Central Co-op Supports 21 charities and good causes with £31,980 in latest Community Dividend Fund
Posted by sam bishop | Published: 29/11/2022
Central Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund has just awarded £31,980 to 21 charities and good causes, all of which support access to food, health and wellbeing, inclusion and the environment.
As part of the Fund, eligible groups can apply for between £100 to £5,000 to support all manner of projects. All details on the Community Dividend Fund can be found on the Central Co-op site.
Included among the recipients is Make Some Noise in Stafford, a creative wellbeing charity for children and young people who are coping with traumatic childhoods. The charity uses creativity to empower children, and Central Co-op’s funding will allow for creative mentors and food for those attending.
Another recipient is Scropton Riding for the Disabled in Derby, who provides activities with horses to help the health and wellbeing of children and adults with additional needs. This funding will allow the organisation to run taster sessions to get people involved.
“As a co-operative, supporting our communities is a key element of our ethos and an essential part of this is our Community Dividend Fund. We’re pleased to support so many good causes and initiatives that make a meaningful difference to members of our communities,” commented Society Secretary, Andy Seddon. “Community Dividend Fund grants showcases how, by being a member and shopping at your local Central Co-op store allows us as a Society to continue to invest and fund vital projects in the community.”
To apply for funding, eligible members will need: name, address, membership number, organisation type, organisation bank account or constitution and to explain what the group does, how the grant will be spent and the specific impact it will have.
Those interested can find out the full criteria and how to apply for funding by visiting https://www.centralengland.coop/community/
For further details, head to the Central Co-op website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Cambridgeshire
Peterborough Sports Ladies, Peterborough - £750 – Providing match day and training kits in support of the female players
Richard Evans, Secretary to the Manager of the Ladies section at Peterborough Sports Football Club, said: “We provide football for female players in and around the Peterborough area. Our teams play in the Cambridgeshire Women's and Girl’s football league and at present we have 37 players registered.”
“Like many clubs we in the Ladies section are run by a band of volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of work for the benefit of the players and their families. To provide playing kit, training kit along with all the other requirements such as training aids is an ongoing project and any help financially from our sponsors is so greatly appreciated. Our players always appreciate the help they are given by our sponsors and are proud to display the name of these as they travel around the County.”
Derbyshire
New Hope Community Church, Halfway – £2,500 – Continuing a salary for the project co-ordinator for The Freedom Programme domestic violence course, assisting the vulnerable in need
Scropton Riding for the Disabled, Scropton - £2,100 – A programme of taster sessions over the course of the year, including half terms with care sessions and agility sessions, supporting inclusive riding for all
St. John Ambulance, Chesterfield - £2,000 – Supporting onboarding, training, and provision for 20 new volunteers to assist in their communities where needed
Leicestershire
AFC Market Bosworth, Newbold Verdon - £750 – To fund new kits for 25 girls, supporting and encouraging girls in football
Markfield Community Library, Markfield - £500 – At the heart of the community, helping fund village events like Halloween, Remembrance, Christmas, Easter, and Summer Fete
Norfolk
Brundall Bolts Football and Sports Club, Postwick - £2,350 – Towards the cost of portable floodlights so the teams can play in any condition
Reepham Methodist Church (RMC), Reepham - £500 – White goods for kitchen, baby changing table, hand wash basin for kitchen, helping with inclusivity at this hub for the community
Nottinghamshire
Meden Vale Colts FC, Meden Vale - £500 – Funding for new kits and training equipment, which allows the club to continue to offer opportunities to play
Adam Elce, Chairman and founder of Meden Vale Colts FC, said: “As Chairman and founder of Meden Vale Colts FC, the Co-op community fund has been a vital source of funding for us as we only formed in 2019 and were immediately impacted by the pandemic. The funds helped us to continue to offer opportunities for the children of our community to return to playing after the lockdown, through the purchase of portable floodlights that assisted us in training during the winter evenings last year, and with the provision of qualified coaches.”
“As we have entered a cost of living crisis, we have kept our costs affordable to families and so look elsewhere for the extra funds needed to support the running of the club. Local businesses have found it difficult during these times too so sponsorship is less accessible than maybe prior to the pandemic, so again, finding opportunities like these to support our income flow is essential in our success as a football club.”
“Through this fund and others, we have thrived, progressing in the 3 and a half years we have been formed, to 33 active teams and over 400 registered players. We could not have done this without the co-op community support fund.”
Trusty Steed CIC, Nottingham – £3,210 – Staff for the community bike hub and spare parts to help those who need help with their bike, supporting environmentally-friendly transport
Staffordshire
Hidden Warriors CIC, Stafford – £2,000 – Provides supportive assistance to the families of the UK Armed Forces Veterans Community, specifically with heating and lighting of project venue, clothing and bedding items, dry food items, toiletries
Make Some Noise, Stafford - £2,220 - Costs of running creative respite sessions for children which are led by two highly-experience creative mentor, so that they do not end before Christmas. Creative materials, food throughout the day to ensure they have at least one healthy meal a day, travel aid
Oak Tree Farm Rural Project, Stone - £700 – Provides training and supported occupation for adults with learning disabilities, in a rural environment. This covers the cost of purchasing a polytunnel cover, along with replacement lath, nails, gloves, and anti-hotspot tape
Tamworth FC u17s, Tamworth - £750 – Kit and tracksuit for kids to continue getting involved with sport
Warwickshire
Polesworth Abbey Knitting Circle, Polesworth – £750 – Wool and accessories for the knitting circle to continue to produce items
West Midlands
Berwood Farm Allotments, Erdington – £400 – Skip hire as they continue to grow and provide fresh produce
The Britannia Youth Organisation CIC, Birmingham – £2,000 – Improving the lives of disadvantaged and neglected young people. Purchasing equipment needed to maintain the grounds, build a community garden, and maintenance
Mohammed Kaleem, Director of The Britannia Youth Organisation CIC, said: “The Britannia Youth Organisation is a grassroots company working to alleviate the devastating impact of poverty on society's most marginalised groups through three key areas, sports, education and leisure. One of our most popular programmes is the Ward End Community Allotment. The funding made available to us through the Co-op Community Dividend fund will be vital in helping to both maintain and expand this project. We were desperately in need of a greenhouse which will allow us to grow a wider variety of produce, we’re now very pleased to be making arrangements for one to be installed thanks to the generosity of Co-op. We can't wait to put our gloves on and start sowing. Thank you from all our beneficiaries and the team at BYO!”
H.U.M.A.N. (Help Unify Mankind And Nations), Birmingham – £2,000 – Staff, programme development, equipment like laptops, tablets, and phones, alongside marketing, as they continue to provide diversity and inclusion workshops
The Lily Mae Foundation, Coventry - £2,000 – Memory boxes for those who have experienced baby loss, supporting those who have been through the trauma
Ryan Jackson, Founder and Managing Director of the Lily Mae Foundation, said: “The Lily Mae Foundation supports parents and families who suffer the devastating loss of a baby to stillbirth, neonatal death, miscarriage or medical termination.”
“Our work sees us provide a support network to bereaved parents following the loss of a baby, training and support for midwives and other health and social care professionals, and research into what can be done to help prevent the loss of a baby in the future. We help parents cope with bereavement by using our own experiences and by connecting bereaved parents with all the support they need, at a time and place that is right for them. We are extremely grateful for the funding that we have received. The funding we have received will help us to continue to support those bereaved parents in their time of need."
Our Scene CIC, Brandwood – £1,500 – Helping to connect people through activities, and this provides room hire, adding new elements to support community, All Saints Youth Project session workers, refreshments, film license.
Parks for Play, Selly Oak - £2,500 – Providing engaging activities for children, including black out window film, sound proofing, carpet tiles, textured bean bags, plumbing and carpenter costs, etc.
About Central Co-op
Central Co-op is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK, with a heritage stretching back over 175 years and interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its 7,700 colleagues serve customers across 440 plus trading sites in 19 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Its purpose is to create a sustainable Society for all.
It actively campaigns for food justice and works with FareShare Midlands and a network of local food banks. It also adds £1 to every Healthy Start Voucher redeemed in store and supports six schools in partnership with Magic Breakfasts.
The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter. The Society is also a member of Diversity in Retail and it is fully committed to addressing the impacts of climate change by reducing carbon and food waste, increasing recycling and investment in community Sustainable Spaces funded by the carrier bag levy. It recently launched its Malawi Partnership to support farmers and producers in the country through the Co-operative International Trading Development Fund.
It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £109,769.25 shared out between 121 good causes in 2022.
Press office contact: Sam Bishop, PR Specialist
Contact details:
sam.bishop@centralengland.coop
07385 048048