Innovative men in a shed scheme in Halesworth given £2k boost by Central England Co-operative
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 11/08/2016
A scheme aimed at combating loneliness among elderly men has been given a £2,150 funding boost from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.
Halesworth Mens’ Shed, based in Norwich Road, applied for a grant as part of a bid to ensure the innovative project can continue to benefit over 40 elderly members of the community by preventing them from becoming isolated.
People who take part in the scheme can either work on their own projects or come together to help create all manner of items for the community.
Alan Richardson, from Halesworth Mens’ Shed, talked about the idea behind the project and how a funding boost from Central England Co-operative will help it to grow.
He said: “Our members come from all works of life and bring with them a multitude of talents.
“Some of our members, men and women, come for numerous reasons but primarily always linked to loneliness whether through bereavement, illness, redundancy or retirement. Our long-term aim would be to eradicate loneliness.”
The cash will be used to pay for a range of new tools that will allow the group to continue making woodwork based products, but also branch out into light engineering, metalwork and modelling.
They were awarded money from the fund alongside 34 other good causes across 16 counties - a total of £55,000 was handed out.
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: “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 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