Jo Dyke, Community and Membership Adviser of the Heart of England Co-operative Society, with Zoë Seville-Edden, Fundraiser of the Mercia MS Therapy Centre.
HEART OF ENGLAND CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY AWARDS £1,000 TO THE MS THERAPY CENTRE
Friday, March 10, 2017
The Society, which operates a network of food stores and funeral homes in Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, has awarded £1,000 to the MS Therapy Centre in Macefield Close, on the Aldermans Green Industrial Estate.
The money has come from the Society’s Helping Hearts Awards Scheme, which uses a percentage of Society profits towards charitable and worthy causes across its trading area. The cash has been put towards upgrading the fire alarm system at the centre which attracts some 200 regular visitors every year.
Zoë Seville-Edden, Fundraiser at the Therapy Centre, said: “Our centre has been in Coventry for 30 years and today costs about £150,000 a year to run.
“We meet these costs through donations from charitable trusts, corporate donations, donations from community groups or individuals and funds from our therapy treatments.
“Most of the income is generated from within the Coventry area alone so to receive a donation of this amount is fantastic. It would perhaps take us up to three or four events to raise the same amount, or anywhere up to 10 days of supermarket collections, perhaps, so now we have secured this amount we can look forward to raising more for more therapies.
“I would like to say thank you on behalf of everyone at the centre for the continued support of the Heart of England Co-op which has aided us for many years now. This is just the kind of support we need to help keep our centre going.”
An estimated 700 to 1,000 people in Coventry are living with MS. Visitors to the MS Therapy Centre range from in their 30s through to people in their 70s and 80s. As well as MS the centre also caters for adults who have suffered stroke or those living with cancer, or children with cerebral palsy – all of whom are able to benefit from the treatments offered by the centre.
Visitors are able to attend without a doctor’s referral and as well as the treatments activities on site include social gatherings, coffee mornings and art classes.
Members pay £15 a year and are able to visit as many times as they like.
Jo Dyke, Community and Membership Adviser at the Heart of England Co-operative Society, said: “The centre’s team of volunteers work tirelessly to help provide a support network for people in Coventry living with MS and other conditions.
“The facility is an invaluable lifeline to many people in the city and we are delighted to be able to support the team in their ongoing work.”
For further information on the work of the centre, call 024 7661 1088.
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