Co-op lifeline for Home-start charities

The cash donations from the Co-op’s £20 million Local Community Fund will give a much needed boost to 50 causes in the region.

Groups set to benefit in the area include the Keeping It Wild Youth Group, Home-Start Ashfield and North Nottinghamshire First Responders, with each in line to receive an estimated £4-5000.

Home-Start in Sutton and Mansfield helps families, with at least one young child, with everything from mental health problems to domestic abuse and bereavement.

Melanie Darrington of Ashfield Homestart said: “Homestart needs every contribution it can get.

“It is a vital service and it is excellent news that the Co-op is supporting it.”

The charity which has supported families with problems for almost 30 years was told could face closure after medical bosses pulled its funding last year

Mansfield and Ashfield Home starts lost core funding Mansfield needs £32,000 and Ashfield needs £38,000 a year to cover its costs.

With 40 per cent of all charities surviving on an income of less than £10,000, the Co-op scheme will provide a considerable proportion of funding for many local good causes.

When a Co-op member buys own-brand products from food stores or a funeral plan or funeral from Funeralcare they earn a five per cent reward for themselves with a further one per cent going to local good causes.

Richard Wilkinson, Area Manager for Co-op food stores, said: “As a community retailer we want to support the causes that matter most to Co-op members such as the Keeping It Wild Youth Group, so we would urge people to visit us online to choose who they would like to support, and then shop with us to ensure the good causes get the most out of the fund.

“Nationwide the local community fund is making a real difference to charities and good causes throughout the country.

Since we launched the membership scheme in September 2016, 8,000 organisations have shared £20 million, and we are confident that this year we will raise a further £20 million to be shared amongst the latest 4,000 causes.”

By joining the Co-op’s membership scheme shoppers can contribute to the money raised for the good causes, and they can choose which of these causes they wish to support by logging on to the Co-op’s membership website at www.coop.co.uk/membership

Community groups set to benefit this year include:

Cornwater Evergreens Foundation Trust

Rainworth and Blidworth Detached Youth Project

St George’s Community Fund

Newlands Junior School

Clipstone Scout Group

Clipstone Welfare Youth Club

1st Edwinstowe Scout Group

Dukeries Community Workshop, Ollerton

1st Farnsfield Scout Group

Farnsfield Pre-school

St. Michael’s Church Organ Restoration

Eastwood Memory Cafe

Danielle’s Flutterbyes

Breathe Easy Hucknall

1st Huthwaite Rainbows

Asylum ACES

All Saints Centre

St. John Ambulance

Fountaindale School

Central Notts Mind

Messy Kidz Pinxton

Direct Payments Service Users

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

8th West Bridgford (St Luke’s) Brownies

Edwalton FC

Shirebrook Miner’s Welfare ‘B’ Band

Shirebrook Model Village Residents Association

Bakersfield and Neighbourhood Community Association

Green’s Windmill Trust

Keeping It Wild Youth Group

SNAP DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Little Fibbers

South Normanton Gala

Flower Pod

Prebend Preschool

Southwell Pre-School

Home-Start Ashfield

Nottinghamshire Search and Rescue

Open Minds

Click Nottingham

Hope Nottingham Local Community Support

3rd Tibshelf (Open) Scout and Guide Group

Town End Junior School

Greenaway Workshop

The Friary

Friends of Voluntary Transport

Trent Bridge Community Trust

North Nottinghamshire First Responders

Sutton on Trent Sports and Community Centre

2nd Tuxford Scout Group