Derbyshire food store becomes first to be named as Dementia Friendly
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 17/05/2017
Central England Co-operative has officially launched its first ever Dementia Friendly store in Derbyshire.
Staff at Ripley food store were joined by representatives from the Amber Valley Dementia Action Alliance to mark the special occasion and to support a special Alzheimer’s Society Community Roadshow as part of Dementia Week.
Being a Dementia Friendly store means that staff in Derby Road were given specialist training to allow them to help colleagues and customers affected by the condition.
The store has also seen new signage put in place in order to remove confusion for anyone shopping who has dementia.
Gavin Glidewell, Co-op Store Manager, said: “We are so proud to be the first store in the Society to be officially designated as Dementia Friendly.
“Everyone involved at the store is proud to have been able to support such a worthwhile project.
“We have received specialist training to ensure we can help colleagues and customers battling with the condition.
“All of us here in Ripley see being part of the community as extremely important and being able to help those with dementia when they need it is part of that.”
The Society has been working with colleagues for the past year to offer special Dementia Friends awareness sessions to offer a greater understanding.
Staff across all parts of Ripley Co-op from café to shopfloor have taken part in the training and are now registered as Dementia Friends.
Tanya Noon, Society Member and Community Relations Officer, said: “Dementia is an illness that is becoming more and more prevalent and as a Society we were determined to help in any way that we could.
“Anyone with dementia who now visits our Ripley food store will be able to get help and guidance from staff if they need it and enjoy an improved shopping experience thanks to specially created signage.
“We will also be using the store as a base to help train staff from across the Society to become Dementia Friends.”
A spokesman from the Amber Valley Dementia Action Alliance said: “We have a great relationship with our local Co-op and the Central England Co-operative store in Ripley is a great example of what companies can do to help and be part of the community.
“We hope that others see the example set by Central England Co-operative and follow suit.
“Central England Co-operative has been brilliant and we hope that the work we have done can help people in the community.”
Notes to editors
Photo caption: Helen Aldridge, Donna Chadwick, and Tim Benson, from the Alzheimer’s Society, with Central England Co-operative Ripley store manager Gavin Glidewell and colleagues.
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 gross sales of £927 million in 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 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 2017.
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.
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