Colleagues at 13 regional co-operative stores got into the charitable spirit in December and raised more than £4,000 for local causes.
The money raised will go to seven different local causes thanks to the support from customers at The Co-operative Food stores based between Lambourn to Yeovil and from Corsham to Blandford Forum.
Residents got involved in a range of Christmas themed fundraising activities put on by colleagues at the stores including colouring competitions, treasure hunts, raffles and guess the sweets in a jar.
The total amounts raised varied from £90 to £675 and will be donated to the respective store’s annual charity partner as part of Southern Co-op’s Love Your Neighbourhood programme.
These are Dorothy House Hospice Care, John McNeill opportunity centre, National Animal Welfare Trust Berkshire – Trindledown Farm, River Bourne Community Farm, Shaftesbury Abbey CE Primary PTFA, St Gregory’s Primary School PTFA and Teddy 20.
Ben Langford-Young, Store Manager in Bath and the area’s Community Champion for the independent, regional co-operative, said: “We have some amazing communities and colleagues in our area who are always supportive of our fundraising efforts but to get to £4,000 is incredible.
“We set ourselves a little internal challenge to see which store could raise the most money for their charity partner but we couldn’t do it without the enthusiasm of our customers too. All of these charities and causes make a difference to people’s lives so this is our way of saying thank you.”
The stores involved were: Bradford On Avon’s Winsley Road which raised £90, Mere’s The Square which raised £98, Frome’s Nunney Road which raised £162, Lambourn’s High Street which raised £184, Shrewton’s High Street which raised £247, Yeovil’s Mudford Road which raised £248, Shaftesbury’s Beaufoy Close which raised £252, Salisbury’s Kelsey Road which raised £275, Blandford’s Salisbury Road which raised £314, Corsham’s Macie Drive which raised £335, Old Sarum’s Crosier Close which raised £494, Sturminster’s Station Road which raised £629, and Bath’s Widcombe Hill which raised £675.
The stores were also involved in Southern Co-op’s other Christmas community activities which saw more than £6,500 worth of products donated to 151 local groups across the south of England, £10,390 raised for NHS Charities Together through the sale of bouquets, more than 1.3 tonnes of products donated via the reverse Advent calendar to local food banks and £1,411 raised for its Feed a Family Fund.
To find out more about Southern Co-op’s ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ programme which aims to create greener, safer, healthier or more inclusive neighbourhoods, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/love-your-neighbourhood/.
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