Central England Co-op is marking Co-op Fortnight by shining a light on what it has been doing to support communities and some of the great acts of co-operation carried out by colleagues throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
The annual event is organised by Co-operatives UK and, this year, the fortnight aims to harness the new culture of co-operation and change in everyday behaviour brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic to raise awareness of co-ops and the values that run through the diverse sector.
Central England Co-op has been determined to demonstrate its co-operative values to support communities during these uncertain times. Among the ways it has done this has been through the setting up of five community hubs in Burton, Derby, Leicester, Lichfield and Stafford, working collaboratively with local councils and organisations to identify vulnerable members of the community and delivering packages of food and essentials.
When the retailer heard from its food bank partners about the huge spike in demand for their services at the same time as a drop in donations as the impact of the pandemic first hit in March, it launched an urgent food bank appeal and made five figure donations to both FareShare Midlands and FareShare East Anglia to support their vital work.
Central England Co-op also stepped in to support its charity partner Dementia UK with a donation of £25,000 to their urgent fundraising appeal, with other charity donations made by the Society including £40,000 to two charities as part of an effort to help support those impacted by a rise in domestic violence.
