Three groups across Norfolk and Suffolk handed £8,440 funding boost thanks to Central England Co-op
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 08/10/2019
A special care farm for youngsters with special education needs was among the groups who have shared a £8,440 community grant in Norfolk and Suffolk thanks to Central England Co-operative.
Three organisations and charities shared the payout, with a total of over £44,000 handed out to 30 good causes across 16 counties.
A total of £4,420 has been handed to Edfords Care Farm, in Mautby, to build a bespoke area of the site to cater for youngsters with special education needs.
The money will be used to pay for everything from an education centre to tools for the children.
Hartford Manor School, in Ipswich Road, Norwich, will use £2,030 to fund a unique project that will pay for outside musical instruments.
Louise Bishop-Howes, from Edfords Care Farm, said: “Edfords Care Farm is very excited to have received a grant from the Co-op Community Dividend Fund.
“The money is being used to set up our Farm School, we run weekly groups for children aged five to 11 with special educational needs and will be expanding this to offer sessions for school groups looking to learn about farming with nature in mind and teaching them the importance of farm to fork principles.
“The Farm School will have an education centre, fruit and vegetable gardens, small animals and a safe space to learn outside the classroom as well as access to the rest of the farm where we keep our pigs, sheep, goats and poultry.
“Without the Central England Co-op Community Dividend Fund setting up Edfords Farm School would have taken years, we’re very grateful that, with the help from the grant, we can start offering children this opportunity from November this year.”
The West Norfolk Deaf Association, based in Kings Lynn, will use £1,990 to spruce up its specialist deaf centre, which is used by over 300 people a month with hearing problems.
Karen Robson, General Manager, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Central England Co-operative for this money for redecoration which will make a huge difference to the organisation and to the hundreds of deaf people who visit our centre on a regular basis.”
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.
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 in Norfolk and Suffolk celebrated 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 the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, 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 2019.
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 member 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 and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop