Northern

Wellbeing day at Belper with some Christmas cheer!

With the run up to Christmas a Wellbeing Day was held in Belper to give people some advice and support so that they can enjoy their Christmas.  The Membership & Community Council talked to customers about portion sizes and sugar and gave tastings of products that in moderation can make

Northern

Warm mulled wine and mince pies were a hit at Dodworth Festival of Light

Together with the Dodworth Co-op Store, the Yorkshire Member & Community Council again supported the Festival of Light event.  Due to the cold weather we were able to go inside the Central Club and warm people up with the mulled wine and mince pies.  The event attracted a number of

Northern

Calow lights up!

Calow Lights Up! The Membership & Community Council, together with the new Co-op store in Calow, were delighted to support the Calow Light Festival on 4th December.  Support was given towards the workshops for lantern making and some products for a hamper and tastings.  Kaye and Lyn who organised the

Eastern

Funeral colleagues support charity’s poignant Christmas efforts

Four colleagues from our funeral team in the eastern region have given up their time to spread some Christmas cheer and support a local charity dedicated to supporting bereaved British Forces children and young people. John Barry, Funeral Director at Kings Lynn Funeral Home, Laura Crowley, Senior Funeral Director in

Northern

Property team hit target with Bowls Club donation

Members of Derby Co-op Bowls Club can now take a load off their feet after a game, on furniture donated by Central England Co-op. The Society’s property team have recycled used furniture from Spondon Funeral Home which was removed following a recent refurbishment, for the benefit of the club

Southern

Over 700 visitors to Oakham Castle Fairtrade Market

Last Saturday we joined other Fairtrade groups & retailers at a Fairtrade Christmas Market at Oakham Castle.  There were lots of ideas for Christmas gifts amongst the many stall holders and the Southern MCC worked alongside our retail colleagues to promote and offer tastings on a selection of our Fairtrade

Central England Co-op urges people to donate a festive treat to help people in need

Central England Co-operative is urging customers and members to donate festive treats and everyday items as part of its 2019 Christmas Food Bank Appeal to help people in need. The retailer worked closely with over 50 food bank providers last year to collect over 75,000 items as part of

Southern

Whetstone Drama Group - new co-operative group for Southern Membership & Community Council

The Southern MCC are pleased to announce that after being approached by Whetstone Drama Group for support with funding, it has been agreed for the group to come under the Central England Co-operative umbrella.  The group is the largest it has ever been and enjoys full audiences.  Within the dynamic

Northern

Do you want to taste the benefits of membership. From dancing to painting groups.

The Northern Membership & Community Council offer members a number of classes to attend across its region.  From the Painting Group and Afternoon Group in Chesterfield, the Dance group in Eastwood, Tai chi class in Ilkeston and Keep Fit and Craft in Derby to name a few.  If you are

Northern

Understanding Pensions and how to prepare for retirement.

A joint event with the WEA (Workers' Education Association) and Co-operative Wealth (investments co-op) was a great way to enable people to have a greater understanding of pensions and planning for the future.  Stuart Mann from Co-operative Wealth gave an overview and answered questions relating to pensions.  If members

Northern

Learning about food choices in a fun way

Children at Greenwood Primary School near Kirkby in Ashfield, enjoyed a fun session learning about healthy choices.  The children were able to look at packaging and identify the meaning of the traffic light system, understand best before and use by dates, portion sizes and food waste.  The children particularly enjoy

Northern

Co-operative solutions to tackle Food and Finance Justice

Food and Finance Justice – Co-operative Solutions by Tanya Noon. Central England Co-operative hosted a Conference to bring a number of organisations working together from foodbanks, credit unions, and local authorities to look at the issues around food and finance justice. The event was opened by the Society’s President, Elaine

TV weatherman Des Coleman steps out from in front of the camera to support Central England Co-op Men’s Event

Popular TV weatherman Des Coleman was the guest of honour at a special event designed to raise awareness around the challenges that men face in the modern world. Central England Co-op took over Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium for the day to host a range of talks and workshops around

Southern

Educating 300 Children in Schools from Leicester to Oakham

Last week was a busy week in schools delivering Healthy Choices Workshops to children in Mayflower School in Leicester and Fairtade to children at Catmose Primary School in Oakham.  The Workshops are part of a number of educational resources we have around being ethical and responsible - please get in

Western

Healthy Choices in Staffordshire

Recently I spent some time in three schools in Staffordshire. I visited The Howard, St Mary's and Richard Cross Primary Schools who are part of The Small School multi academy trust. During the visits to the schools i spent time with Year 2,3,4,5 and 6

Western

Community Days at Central England Co-operative

Recently we teamed up with our Retail stores in Lichfield and Stafford to hold some community days with the aim of promoting our co-operative difference. During the events we spoke with members and customers about Co-operative membership and community work and what we do to support our local members, talked

Western

Co-operative History in Birmingham

Our Member and Community Council Ambassador Shaz recently went to visit our Central England Co-operative History group in Birmingham.  Shaz speaks of his time at the group: "I visited the Birmingham Co-op History group this month. They had a very interesting discussion event where group member John Goodman talked

Christmas giving at Central England Co-operative

Christmas to me is all about giving and at Central England Co-operative this November that is exactly what we are doing.  During this month we have set up our Christmas Toybox Appeal where Members, Customers and Colleagues can donate new unopened toys that will be donated to local young people

Northern

Networking in Beeston

An evening of getting to know members in the Beeston area included the President, Elaine Dean and Secretary, Jim Watts giving an overview of the financial results and the focus of the Society in the future.  A new store is to open in Beeston in early 2020 and it was

Southern

350 Children from Brooks Hill School in Oakham learn about Fairtrade

This week, Sue Barker, MCC Ambassador, and I were invited into Brooks Hill School in Oakham to deliver a Fairtrade Assembly.  Our assemblies look at how by buying Fairtrade you can support farmers and producers by paying a fair price for their produce/products, which helps to build wells and

Southern

JOINING THE GENERATIONS CONFERENCE IS A HUGE SUCCESS

Last Friday, over 70 delegates attended our Joining the Generations Conference at the Salvation Army Centre in Leicester.  Following the success of the Channel 4 documentary "Old People's Homes for 4 Year Olds", this joint-initiative with Little Stars Nursery, who are based in Melton Mowbray, explored

Southern

Visits to our Educational & Recreational Courses

This week we have been busy checking in with our tutors and students where we run our classes at the Salvation Army Centre in Leicester. There is a whole range of classes from Keep Fit, Watercolour Painting, Embroidery, Lace Making, Calligraphy and Soft Furnishing to choose from and new members

Northern

Eckington store hosts free Halloween half-term event

Central England Co-op’s Eckington store is hosting a day of spook-tacular fun to give local youngsters a half-term treat for Halloween. The Pinfold Street store will be offering a range of free activities to keep youngsters entertained from face painting to Halloween craft making, while there will also be

Northern

Find out all about Central England Co-op at two special Membership and Networking events

We are hosting two special Membership and Networking Events to allow people in Nottingham and Cambridge to find out more about our Society. The events will see our Membership and Community Relations team talking about what they do, the groups they already work with in both areas and how you

Western

Free half-term Halloween fun for the family at Stafford supermarket

A Central England Co-op supermarket in Stafford is hosting a day of spooky fun to give local youngsters a half-term Halloween treat. The Wildwood supermarket in Cannock Road will be offering a range of free activities to keep youngsters entertained from face painting to Halloween craft making, while there will