Two groups in the West Midlands handed an early Christmas present in the shape of £10,000

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 31/10/2016


Two groups in the West Midlands have unwrapped an early Christmas present after sharing nearly £10,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.

A wide range of projects from across the area shared the festive funding boost of £9,788, with a total of £42,555 handed out to 26 good causes across 16 counties.

A special walkway is set to built at an historic woodland for the community in Sutton Coldfield after the Friends of Jones’s Wood was handed £5,000.

The new walkway will also allow people with pushchairs and people in wheelchairs to use the restored woodland.

Fox Hollies Swimming Club, based in Solihull, has been awarded £4,788 to pay for equipment that will be used to teach youngsters to swim.

The independent not-for-profit teaches anyone to swim over the age of four, with the majority of members under the age of 19.

The money will be used to buy vital equipment that will allow people to learn the essential life skill of swimming and fulfil their potential as swimmers.

Dawn Walker, from the swimming club, said: “We are extremely grateful to Central England Co-operative for making this award. The funding will allow the club to invest in equipment which will benefit both our learn to swim members and more experienced swimmers for years to come. “Swimming is not only an important life skill but also a great way to keep fit and being part of a competitive club also teaches many other skills which help our young people become more rounded members of the community.”

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the Society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area of 16 counties from the Midlands to the east coast.

Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the Community Dividend scheme.”

People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/ or heading in store to pick up an application form.

Potential applicants have to have been a Central England Co-operative member for six months, the project should be in the trading area of a Central England Co-operative store and all applications will need a referee.

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2015/16.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop