Co-op makes vital donation to projects supporting vulnerable residents across Leicestershire
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 20/07/2020
A donation by Central England Co-op has supported a vital project in Leicestershire provide a lifeline to vulnerable residents during the Coronavirus outbreak.
The retailer’s Southern Membership and Community Council (MCC) made the decision to redirect £200 in Co-op vouchers it had planned to use towards events which have had to be cancelled due to the outbreak, to make a real difference to projects working on the ground to support people in the region via Age UK Leicester.
Karen Bevan, Member and Community Relations Officer at Central England Co-op who organised the donation, said: “Usually at this time of year our Membership and Community Council (MCC) Members and I would be out in the community at a range of different events such as fetes and festivals promoting what we do and running educational workshops.
“However, with normal life on hold and public events being cancelled and postponed, the MCC wanted to redirect its funds that would have been used on these events to make a real and immediate difference on the ground in our communities which are feeling the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown.
“We have been in touch with some fantastic projects that have showcased the very best of co-operation to help the most vulnerable in our communities during these difficult times and we are proud to be able to offer our support to Age UK Leicester.”
The donation has helped the good cause create around 600 emergency food parcels via its food hub and also support its telephone befriending deal with around 11,500 calls since the start of lockdown.
Nikky Miles, corporate fundraiser for Age UK Leicester, said: “Thank you for this very generous offer of Co-op food vouchers. This comes at such a crucial time with the local lock down and public food donations declining.
“We have supported over 600 people with emergency food parcels since March, these have been a real life line to people who have been self-isolating, especially those who do not have any kind of family or friends to support them.
“Without support like this we would be really struggling to continue this vital work, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone at Central England Co-op.”
People can keep up to date with what is happening in their local community by visiting a dedicated online hub at www.centralengland.coop/updates
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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