Thirty-two projects handed a share of £50k funding boost thanks to Central England Co-operative

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 27/06/2017


Thirty-two charities and groups are celebrating after sharing £50,000 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.

The Hero Project, based in Coalville, Leicestershire, will use £3,300 to buy an outdoor pizza oven and ingredients to help youngsters learn more about where food comes from.

Danielle Fern, from the Hero Project, said: “The funds will go towards a pizza oven and co-operative foods.

“The project is about going around local schools and doing a pizza club, which will involve different activities such as how to grow "pizza" plants.

“This will have a massive impact on our local area in a good way.”

Raunds Town Cricket Club, in Northamptonshire, has been handed £2,000 to help build  new facilities that will act as a toilet for people with disabilities and a shower for female players.

Headway, a charity which supports people who have suffered a brain injury and their carers in Derby, has received £1,500 to pay for new equipment such as tablets that will be used to help patients overcome the challenge of living with a brain injury.

The Kushinga Community Garden, in Birmingham, has been boosted by a grant worth £1,895 to help pay for need materials to bolster efforts to bring the community closer together through gardening.

Sheffield-based Eckington Tenants & Residents Focus Group secured a grant of £4,500, with a total of £50,000 handed out to 32 good causes across 16 counties.

The money will be used to help pay for a raft of features aimed at making the work they do in the community more disabled friendly.

Specialist braille signs are among the items that will be purchased by the group, which will use them at a specialist sensory garden launched to help people in the area.

Other groups to receive funding include schools, pre-schools, Scout groups, football and basketball teams.

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/

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 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 – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop