Photo above: Members of the Nuneaton, Bedworth and District Mencap Society committee help members of the arts group with their Four Seasons of the Year collage, which appears on the right of the photo.
HEART OF ENGLAND CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY DONATES £5,000 TO DISASTER EMERGENCY FUND
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
The Nuneaton, Bedworth and District Mencap Society has received a surprise windfall of £2,500 thanks to shoppers at the Heart of England Co-operative Society.
The charity, which supports adults and children with learning disabilities, was one of 15 good causes within the Heart of England’s trading area of Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire to receive a share of £25,000.
It comes after members and customers at the Society’s network of 35 branches of The Co-operative were invited to vote from a shortlist of charities every time they shopped.
Receiving the most votes in Nuneaton and Bedworth, Mencap was awarded the largest sum followed by St John Ambulance which was awarded £1,500 and Nuneaton Club for Young People £1,000.
Ian Rothwell, Chairman of Nuneaton, Bedworth and District Mencap Society, was pleasantly surprised with the donation from the Heart of England Co-operative Society.
He said: “Just before lockdown, in early March, our society purchased some furnishings and decorations for a new sitting room where our members with a learning disability and those of us who need a quiet moment to reflect can sit in relative peace.
“The monies received will contribute to general funds and will of course help cover the cost of the furnishings and decorations.”
He added: “On behalf of all committee members, I would like to thank the customers of the Heart of England Co-operative Society who voted for us to receive this very generous donation.”
Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society added: “Once again we are delighted to be able to support a range of fantastic causes including Mencap. Their work is clearly greatly appreciated by many of our customers who took the time to vote in-store.
“We would like to thank all our customers who took part in the vote. Their efforts have benefited a range of charities and worthy causes across our area.”
Government statistics show that in 2014 customers used more than 7.6 billion single-use bags, equating to 61,000 tonnes or 140 bags for every person in Britain.
After the levy was introduced in 2015 sales of the bags in major supermarkets fell by 86 per cent, equating to just 19 bags per person in 2016/17.
By 2018 the number of bags sold had further fallen, with 1.75 billion sold during the year.
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