Group that supports bereaved youngsters in Norwich thanks to Central England Co-operative

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 03/02/2017


A unique group that works with youngsters who have lost a loved one has received a welcome boost after being handed a payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.

Nelson’s Journey, based in Norwich, applied for the funding in a bid to continue work to support children and young people aged up to 17 years old across Norfolk who have lost a loved one.

They were awarded £865 from the fund alongside 34 other good causes across 16 counties - a total of £57,000 was handed out.

The registered charity aims to improve the emotional wellbeing of bereaved youngsters by increasing their confidence and self-belief, providing education and offering families the environment to talk about loss.

Last year, the charity helped 791 youngsters – an increase of 22 per cent compared to the previous 12 months.

John Barry, Funeral Director, said: “We were proud to visit Nelson’s Journey to present a cheque from our Community Dividend Fund.

“The money will be used to pay for specialist books, which will allow them to continue vital work to support youngsters who have lost a loved one.

“As a co-operative, we are proud of our links to the communities in which we serve and the Community Dividend Fund is one of the many ways we like to give back.”

A spokesman for Nelson’s Journey said: “We are dedicated to supporting bereaved children and young people throughout Norfolk

“Based in Norwich, we were founded in 1997 and since that point we have helped thousands of children between the age of 0 to 17, who have experienced the death of a significant person in their life."

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.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop


Notes to editors

Picture caption: John Barry, Funeral Director King’s Lynn, Central England Co-operative Funeralcare area manager Mike Taaffe, Debbie Bishop, funeral administrator, and Sarah Hyde, Nelson’s Journey community funding and marketing officer.

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 &ndndash;publicrelations@centralengland.coop