Four groups in Norfolk handed early Christmas gift after sharing over £5,000 in funding
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 03/10/2017
Four charities, groups and projects in Norfolk have unwrapped an early Christmas present after sharing over £5,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.
A wide range of projects from across the area shared the festive funding boost of £5,700, with a total of £51,000 handed out to 30 good causes across 16 counties.
Brundall Primary School will spend a total of £2,000 to buy a raft of new books for youngsters after it was discovered that the library had not updated its stock for around 20 years.
Stuart Sheppard, head teacher of Brundall Primary School, said: “We are delighted that Central England Co-op has awarded us a Community Dividend Fund grant of £2,000 to buy books for our school library.
“It is increasingly difficult to find funds in our school budget for new books so we are thrilled to receive this grant which will make a significant difference.
“Being able to replace and buy new books for the pupils will have a huge positive impact and reinforces our aim of encouraging the children to become confident and keen readers through engaging with quality texts.
“I’m particularly pleased to see Central England Co-op making such a tangible contribution to the local community through this grant to the school.”
Miniature Donkeys for Wellbeing, in Hempnall Green, will use £2,500 to buy a raft of new equipment for helping with wellbeing visits to people who are vulnerable, isolated or disadvantaged people across the area.
Sarah McPherson, from the project, said: “We are delighted to receive such a generous grant from the Central England Co-operative Community Dividend Fund.
“The grant means that we will be able to upgrade our website so more people will know about us and how to access our services and support us.
“We will buy fencing to make our enclosures when we go out and about so people can look at and touch the donkeys close up, and we will buy grooming kits and head collars so that when we visit younger people.”
Budding young footballers at Blofield United, based in Blofield, and Wootons Football Club, in King’s Lynn, will be running out during the new season in brand new kits after both were awarded £600 in funding.
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/
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 groups across Norfolk celebrate 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 gross sales of £927 million in 2016/17. 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 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