Co-op community fund awards £14,000 cash boost to nine groups across the West Midlands to ensure vital work continues to help those in need
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 20/04/2020
Central England Co-op has shared out £14,000 between nine good causes across the West Midlands to ensure they can continue their vital community work during the Coronavirus outbreak.
A wide range of charities and community organisations were delighted to receive the funding boost during these uncertain times, with a total of £50,000 handed out to 29 groups across 16 counties from the retailer’s Community Dividend Fund.
The money will now be spent by charities and organisations to ensure that events, activities and support that otherwise might have been postponed or cancelled can still go ahead and provide a vital boost to the local community.
A total of £2,800 has been handed to Woodhouse Farm and Garden CIC, in Lichfield, to support vital refurbishment work to ensure it can still provide fruit and vegetables for the community during lockdown.
Katherine House Hospice, in Stafford, has been awarded £2,200 to ensure it can continue its vital work as fund-raising becomes more difficult following the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. St Giles Hospice has also been awarded £1,500 to support its vital work.
The Fuse Festival, in Lichfield, has been given £2,200 to support the music and community arts event for when it returns following the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Co-operative Learning Trust, based at Outwood Primary School, in Burton, will spend £1,500 to ensure it can continue to educate the children of key workers at this time.
Whittington Community Computer Group will use £1,000 to help fight elderly members of the community fight loneliness and isolation while they are self-isolating.
Kingsbury Aztecs FC under 14s will use £650 for new kits to ensure it can resume competing when the football season begins again later this year. Eccleshall Junior FC will use £900 to buy new goals.
Our Lady of the Wayside Pre-School, based in Solihull, will use £800 for outdoor projects for youngsters it is looking after during the current situation.
Debbie Robinson, Central England Co-op Chief Executive, said: “Now more than ever being a co-operative business that sits at the heart of our communities is so important.
“We are delighted that these great projects and good causes have been handed a grant that will allow them to continue their fantastic work in the community at this uncertain time.
“Community Dividend Fund grants like this showcase how by being a member and shopping at your local Central England Co-op store allows us as a Society to continue to invest and fund vital projects in the area.”
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.
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.
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: Central England Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund has shared out £50,000 to good causes to help ease the impact of the Coronavirus.
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral, travel and property investment.
Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.
Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 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.
We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.
We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.
Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood
Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle
Phone - 01543 421390
Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop