Twenty-six groups handed an early Christmas present in the shape of £42,555
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 31/10/2016
Twenty-six charities and groups have unwrapped an early Christmas present after sharing £42,555 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 a festive funding boost, with the largest single amount given being £5,000.
One group received the maximum sum - Friends of Jones’s Woods, in Sutton Coldfield, will use the cash to create a brand new walkway
Young sports stars at Weekly Rovers Football Club and Whittington Blades Under 9s Football Team will be getting funding boosts to pay for new kit.
Parishioners and visitors to St Mary’s Church, in Burton, will soon be shielded from the winter cold after being granted £2,000 to pay for a new boiler and a new radiator.
Eccleshall Eagles Junior Football Club has been handed £3,800 to pay for a new mower to ensure that pitches stay in tip top condition during the winter months.
Other projects that have received funding include £2,900 for a state-of-the-art computer for schoolchildren at Edgar Sewter Primary School, in Suffolk, £3,500 for new shelters at Stand Road Bowls Club, in Derbyshire, and hi-visibility jackets, new tables and chairs for Breedon Play and Learn Pre School worth £1,250.
Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants as part of the Community Dividend Fund.
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.
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