Central England Co-op reaches £1m fundraising target

Central England Co-operative has raised £1m for the Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, which helps hundreds of children with disabilities and terminal illness. Colleagues at the co-op voted to back the charity in 2012 and have since been involved in a number of fundraising activities.

The funding will go towards providing specialist equipment like wheelchairs so that children can play a greater role in school life, seating so they can relax pain-free, beds to ensure they sleep in safety, mobile hoists to support them inside and outside the home and hi-tech aids so they can communicate with family and friends. So far, 442 children have benefited from support through the partnership between the co-op and the charity.

One of the children who has received support from the charity, Liam Howard from Stafford, suffers from cerebral palsy, a condition that has resulted in development delay, renal and nervous system disorders. His muscles cannot support him to enable him to sit up by himself. Without specialist pieces of equipment, he ran the risk of developing a curvature of the spine as well as a general worsening of his condition. Through the charity, he received the much-needed equipment.

His mum Natasha said: “Specialist seating is so expensive – you can’t just pop to the high street and buy them for £20 or so. Without help we were facing the reality of not being able to go out, including not being able to do the school run for Liam and his brother, Kieran, which would have made life very difficult. The car seat and PPod will make life much easier. They are both very useful and I am very grateful for them.”

Together staff and customers ran different campaigns such as fun days, head shaves and bake sales and they took part in sporting events, car washes and jewellery sales to raise money for Newlife Foundation.

Central England Co-operative chief executive Martyn Cheatle said: “As a community retailer and responsible business we are absolutely delighted to have been able to raise such a significant amount of money for Newlife Foundation and it’s all thanks to the dedication and generosity of the society’s colleagues, members and customers.

“I’m sure the knowledge that every penny raised has gone directly to benefit families across our trading area has provided a real incentive for people to get behind the campaign. Reaching the £1m mark is a fantastic achievement but we won’t be resting on our laurels and hope to make a difference to even more families before the partnership comes to an end.”

Newlife chief executive Sheila Brown, added: “This has been an amazing partnership, helping us to support so many in urgent need. Without this level of support from Central England Co-operative, some of these children would have gone without the equipment they needed and many more would have had to wait months or even years just for an assessment of their needs.

“I cannot thank Martyn Cheatle and his colleagues enough for their commitment to Newlife and the families we represent. Thanks a million!”