Selly Oak Trust School given a spruce up thanks to the Big Co-op Clean

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 04/07/2016

Staff from Central England Co-operative Birmingham food stores gave up their time to brighten up the grounds of Selly Oak Trust School.

The clean-up operation at Selly Oak Trust School, which took place on Tuesday, 21 June, is part of a UK-wide initiative, The Big Co-op Clean, where thousands of co-op members demonstrate the power of working together to make a positive difference to their local environment and community.

Matt Garton, Retail Operations Manager, said: “We spent the day tidying the school grounds with students from Selly Oak Trust School. This involved cleaning outdoor equipment, litter picking and weeding. It was great to make a positive difference to the school and show that we can achieve far greater things together than we can alone, but at the same time have fun and hopefully demonstrate what being a co-operative business is all about.”

James Hawkins, Assistant Head Teacher at Selly Oak Trust School, said: "A fantastic day of support from our business partners at Central England Co-operative has enabled us to prepare our school for our Open Day this week. Central England Co-operative staff worked hard to clear weeds, litter and tidy our school entrance as well as wash down fences, gates and our outdoor gym equipment. They also helped clear areas of our new forest school planned to open next term. It was great to see Central England Co-operative staff working alongside our students and talking about their jobs and the student career aspirations.

Thank you so much Central England Co-operative - we hope you can come again!"

The Big Co-op Clean is part of Co-operatives Fortnight (18 June – 2 July), an annual awareness campaign to help people become more familiar with co-operatives in their local area.
Ed Mayo is Secretary General for Co-operatives UK, the trade body behind Co-operatives Fortnight. He said: “It’s great that Central England Co-operative, like so many other co-ops, is backing this year’s campaign. It’s a small way of demonstrating that co-ops are different to other types of business. Because they are owned by their members – employees, customers or suppliers – and not distant shareholders, local issues and concerns are more of a priority. That’s just one of the reasons why Central England Co-operative is taking action.”  

For more information on the campaign or to find an event near you, visit: http://www.uk.coop/ChooseCoop 

Notes to editors

Co-operatives Fortnight is a two-week period when co-operatives of all shapes and sizes across the UK come together to encourage people to choose co-operative. It is a sector-wide national campaign organised by Co-operatives UK, sponsored generously by some of the UK’s most successful co-operatives and brought to life by co-ops across the UK.
The Big Co-op Clean theme was launched in 2014 as a focused activity that co-operatives of all kinds could organise. More than 100 co-ops participated in organising clean-ups of local parks, river banks, beaches and public spaces, or encouraged their customers to clean out their cupboards and donate to foodbanks.
Co-operatives are businesses owned and run by their members. There are nearly 7,000 independent co-operatives across the UK, working in all parts of the economy – from football to farming, retail to renewable energy.

For more information visit http://www.uk.coop/choosecoop
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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’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