Central England Co-op customers help to create green spaces in their community as Halloween campaign proves a hit
Posted by james brindle | Published: 05/11/2021
Central England Co-op has thanked shoppers for picking up one of its special ghost pumpkins for their Halloween celebrations as they helped raise thousands of pounds to create green spaces in their communities.
In the run-up to Halloween the retailer offered the pumpkins for sale in its 263 stores across 16 counties with 50p from each sale going to benefit Groundwork and its amazing work in the local area.
The spooky decorations proved a hit with customers, with almost 16,000 sold by the end of October 31, which will result in a donation of nearly £8,000.
That money will directly support the amazing work of Groundwork which has a proven record in making communities greener, safer and healthier and enabling people to work together to bring about change in their local area
Central England Co-op has already partnered with Groundwork on an ambitious project that aims to create sustainable spaces that deliver lasting benefits in the communities it serves every day.
That project is set to create a range of different spaces on land around its own retail stores and funeral homes and the money raised through the ghost pumpkins sales will also support projects in the retailer’s trading area.
Hannah Gallimore, Central England Co-op Corporate Responsibility Manager, said: “I would like to thank our kind-hearted customers for picking up one of our ghost pumpkins while they shopped in the run-up to Halloween to not only help make their festivities special but also give a boost to a great charity doing vital work to create sustainable, green spaces in our communities.
“We are extremely proud of our relationship with Groundwork and are keen supporters of the work they do in the community which fits in so well with our aims of creating a sustainable Society for all.”
Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive Graham Duxbury said: “We would like to thank Central England Co-operative for inviting us to be a part of this great campaign and for their kind donation from the sale of ghost pumpkins. The money raised will help us to continue to support people and places in communities across the UK.”
The success of the ghost pumpkins came as for the second year running Central England Co-op saw its biggest pumpkin selling year on record, as the popularity of Halloween continues to soar.
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 with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 7,800 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 16 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.
It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.
The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.
It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.
Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.
Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle
Phone - 01543 421390
Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop