Women's football match among events marking Fairtrade Fortnight in Southern region
Central England Co-op will be holding a range of events across Leicestershire and Northamptonshire during Fairtrade Fortnight 2020 to get the community talking about Fairtrade.
The Society will be holding everything from tea dances, quizzes and school workshops to a special Fairtrade women’s football match in Leicester, all aimed at promoting the importance of the Fairtrade movement.
Fairtrade Fortnight kicks off today (24 February) and runs to 8 March and will see thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK come together to celebrate the people who grow our food, people who live in some of the poorest countries in the world and those who are often exploited and badly paid.
One of the big events of the two weeks will be a ‘Can’t Play Players’ women’s football match on Saturday, 29 February at AFC Andrews Football Club in Aylestone, which will also raise money for Dementia UK.
The match is open to women of all abilities, particularly those who haven’t kicked a ball before and the teams will use special Fairtrade Bala UK footballs which will be donated to the club to mark Fairtrade Fortnight.
Educating young people about Fairtrade in the communities Central England Co-op serves will also be at the heart of its activities during the Fortnight, with colleagues delivering special assemblies and workshops.
The sessions aim to get children thinking about the people who grew their food and far it has come, as well as making them aware that buying Fairtrade goods means fair prices for farmers in the developing world.
Among the schools and groups which the Society will be working with during the Fortnight will be Latimer School in Anstey, Bottesford Primary School, Groby Primary School, Whetstone Beavers, Loatlands Primary School in Desborough and Duston Eldean Primary School in Northampton.
The Society’s Southern Membership and Community Council (MCC) has also donated food vouchers to support events taking place in Fairtrade Towns across the region, including the Market Harborough Big Breakfast, the Melton Mowbray Big Breakfast and the Rutland Big Brew.
Karen Bevan, Member and Community Relations Officer for Central England Co-op in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, said: “Fairtrade Fortnight is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and promote the importance of Fairtrade through fun events for our members and customers, such as the tea dances and football matches, while also getting out into schools and community groups to educate young people.
“Our educational workshops on Fairtrade not only teach young people about how they can shop in a more ethical way; it helps them to think of themselves as global citizens with a responsibility to others.
“Fairtrade and ethical practices are hugely important to us as a co-operative, so we are always keen to make sure that we are educating the next generation in these important subjects, while also making the sessions we put on great fun and interactive for the young people.”
The retailer will also be raising awareness of Fairtrade and the range of ethically-sourced products it stocks in its Food Stores throughout the two weeks of the campaign, with in-store promotions and product samplings.
Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://membership.centralengland.coop/