Central England Co-op donates £17,000 to boost 11 projects across Leicestershire
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 19/01/2018
Eleven projects in Leicestershire are celebrating after sharing nearly £17,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.
A wide range of groups, organisations and charities were handed grants, with a total of £57,000 handed out to 36 good causes across 16 counties.
Over £4,500 has been handed to Fairshare East Midlands to pay for an industrial chiller and chiller boxes.
This payout will support a project that aims to provide over 2,000 youngsters living in poverty with food.
Simone Connolly, Fairshare Project Manager, said: “The funds received from Central England Co-Op will enable FareShare East Midlands to increase chilled food storage capacity at our premises in Narborough, Leicestershire.
“This means that we can respond to increases of surplus chilled food from the food industry which will then allow us to support more breakfast and school holiday clubs in our region with a very low cost food solution.
Increasing our capacity will allow us to reach more of these children who are vulnerable and hungry.”
Connect, which is the home of the Burbage Methodist Church, will use £2,000 to pay for solar panels as part of an effort to be more environmentally friendly.
Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, based in Thurncourt Road, has been handed £600 to help pay for a range of items that will support elderly people in the area.
Whetstone Juniors Football Club has been lifted by news it will get £2,000 to help continue with efforts to spruce up its clubhouse after a fire almost caused the club to fold.
Measham Welfare Football Club has been boosted with a £1,000 grant to pay for vital supplies, with Main Event Youth Club, in Barlestone, given £800 to buy equipment for youngsters such as a pool table.
Vibrant community radio station Harborough FM will use £1,760 to ensure that its output continues to be heard by locals for years to come.
Leire and Dunton Scout Group will spend £1,000 on a new mess tent and Leicester Vaughan College will use £1,000 to pay for supplies to be used by students with learning difficulties.
Dr Miriam Gill, from the college, said: “Leicester Vaughan College is very grateful to Central England Co-operative for their generous support. This money will be used to support our newly founded co-operative Adult Education College for those in Leicester and the Midlands. We are offering counselling, well-being and arts and social science courses with the hope of establishing part-time degrees for adult learners.”
The people of Narborough and Littlethorpe will soon be able to enjoy a raft of new books at their community library following a £1,000 grant.
Countesthorpe Leysland Community College has been awarded £1,000 to pay for new play panels which will be used by children of all ages.
In 2017, a total of 122 groups and organisations shared £209,000 to spend on a wide variety of projects.
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: “The Community Dividend Fund reflects a key principle of our society, in that we reward the loyalty of our customers by investing in and supporting local communities.
“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 Fund scheme.”
People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/
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: Members of eleven groups across Leicestershire celebrated being handed their grant from the Central England Co-operative Community Dividend Fund.
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 the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, and property investment.
Central England Co-operative has over 400 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 2018.
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 Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
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
For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop