We all know who the Co-op are! They are shops, insurers, pharmacies, travel agents and more. How much do you really know about the Co-operative though? The Co-operative was founded in 1844 as the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, and was an early consumer co-operative and the first to pay it’s members a dividend. There is a lot more about this on Wikipedia if you are interested, but my main point is that not only has the Co-op been going for a very long time but that it has been people-focussed from the very beginning! From it’s early roots in the North, the Co-op has now grown to having over 6 million members and has over 5000 outlets across it’s family of businesses around the UK.
The Co-op strives to promote ethical practices around the globe and are currently running a fantastic campaign focussed on helping others strive to bring their own “revolutions” to life. You can find more about this campaign and join the Facebook group which has information on how you can get involved here.
One example of how The Co-operative has helped a group with their own revolution is in Machynlleth in Montgomeryshire. “Play Montgomeryshire” runs a host of family centered activities giving local children the opportunity to learn through play. One of their popular services, the Toy Library was facing closure after losing it’s funding and this closure would have been a severe blow to local families. When my (now 4 year old!) son was smaller we visited our local Toy Library weekly. It was a cost effective way to borrow new toys, books and games, and an opportunity for Kieran to interact with other children. If I am being honest, had our Toy Library been closed, it would have been been as much a blow to the parents who saw the library as a place to meet other Mums, and just get out of the house!
Lucky for the Machynlleth Toy Library, their successful application to the Community Fund meant that it could stay open. The Community Fund is made up of monies that the Co-op members generously give from their profits, and this fund allowed the Co-op to award 1319 grants to deserving community projects in need in 2010.
Machynlleth is not the only area that has benefited from the Community Fund and Co-op invites you to think about joining the “revolution” and helping them to help you fund local groups and schemes. It is very simple to do – visit Get involved -submit your initiative, with a brief description of what it’s all about, and the most popular revolution from each region will receive a £5,000 cash injection. My local area could definitely use a grant to fence off the part of our large community park that is for under 4yr olds and give it a bit of a face lift, giving our youngest children somewhere special and safe to play and interact. I’m sure there is a cause near you that could use the aid so..
