Thirty-four groups celebrate scooping share of £57,000 funding boost
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 06/01/2017
Thirty-four charities and groups are celebrating after sharing £57,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.
A diverse range of projects picked from across 16 counties have been handed funding, with the largest single amount given being £5,000.
Saint Aidan’s Community Hall, in New Parks, Leicester, and Belper Meadows Sports Club were handed the maximum grant of £5,000, with a total of £57,000 handed out to 34 good causes across 16 counties.
The sports club will use the donation to pay for a kitchen that will benefit over 500 members and the community hall will be getting a new roof thanks to the
cash injection.
Youngsters in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire will soon be able to learn more about the outdoors as Goldhill Play Association and St Edwards Catholic Primary School were handed donations to support forest school sessions.
Green-fingered gardeners at Stokeswood Allotment and Groby Road Allotment, both in Leicester, were both given cash to pay for new security measures and new sustainable power systems.
Loughborough-based charity Steps has been handed cash to continue its vital work to support disabled children by purchasing equipment for a sensory garden.
Ratby Sports Football Club, Ibstock Utd under-8s, Whittlesey Warriors Netball Club, and Kingsbury Aztecs FC were all handed cash to pay for new kit and training gear.
Thrapston Community First Responders will use £2,500 to pay for portable defibrillator that will be used to respond to emergencies across parts of Kettering.
The streets of Chesterfield will soon be a little bit safer thanks to a £1,450 grant to the Chesterfield and District Neighbourhood Watch.
The money will be spent to pay for items such as personal alarms for the elderly and vulnerable and purse bells to deter thieves.
TOGS Clothing Bank provides free second-hand goods for children aged 0 to 16 ranging from school uniform to toys across Derby.
They have been awarded £500 to pay for storage for items to ensure the vital scheme continues throughout 2017.
Holy Rosary Church, in Main Street, Stapenhill, and St Joseph’s Catholic Church, in Mount Street, Winshill, received £2,500 to pay for vital repair work.
All Saints Catholic College, based in Huddersfield, was awarded £2,000 to pay for a range of new library books designed to help people who struggle with dyslexia and dual languages.
Nelson’s Journey, based in Norwich, received funding in a bid to continue work to support children and young people aged up to 17 years old across Norfolk who have lost a loved one.
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 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 scheme.”
People can apply for funding by heading online and visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/ or heading in store to pick up an application form.
Potential applicants have to have been a Central England Co-operative member for six months, the project should be in the trading area of a Central England Co-operative store and all applications will need a referee.
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
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 projected gross sales of £958million for 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. Central England Co-operative has more than 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. The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2015/16.
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.
For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop