Disabled pensioners in Coventry given a helping hand by The Heart of England Co-operative Society’s Helping Hearts Scheme
Monday, November 14, 2016
The retailer has awarded £500 to Coundon Day Centre which provides social activities for elderly people who may otherwise find themselves in isolation from society.
The money has come from the Helping Hearts Awards Scheme, in which the retailer ploughs a percentage of its profits into charities and worthy causes across the trading area of Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.
It is being put towards the running costs of the day centre’s minibus which is used to transport members between their homes and the centre.
Opening its doors 32 years ago at Coundon Methodist Church, and moving to Allesley Park Community Centre earlier this year, the facility provides an invaluable lifeline to elderly people with varying disabilities, including blindness and dementia.
Today it caters for some 28 members aged in their 70s, 80s and 90s. The oldest member is 98, with some six or seven more also in their 90s. Most members come from Coundon and Allesley, with others from the wider Coventry area.
The annual running cost of the centre is just short of £85,000, including staff salaries, the minibus, and meals and entertainments which are laid on for members every time they visit. Half the running costs are sourced by the centre through numerous appeals for funding, the other half comes from member subscriptions.
Jean Pellow, Centre Fundraiser, said: “We are so very grateful to Helping Hearts for this wonderful donation, and indeed the donation of food towards our new year parties on very many occasions in the past also.
“Finding half of £85,000 a year is no mean feat. Indeed our team of 12 volunteers– who assist us with driving responsibilities, helping to serve meals and generally befriending our members – is also vital.
“We certainly could not operate cost efficiently without their good will.
“It is only with the support of such caring people, and indeed organisations like the Heart of England Co-operative Society, that we are able to achieve our aims and change lives for the better. People are living longer and our centre is a real lifeline for so many, helping them to obtain a better quality of life.”
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