East of England Co-op has awarded its latest round of community grants, with donations from its Community Cares Fund passing the £1.2m mark.
Each year, the retail society invests part of its profits through the fund to support local charities and community initiatives that support community cohesion and integration.
Since it was launched in 2020, the fund has awarded over £1.2m in grants to 368 projects across the East of England.
Recent examples include Lowestoft’s first community apiary, set up with a £5,000 grant from the fund. Jamie McBride, founder of Project Apis which runs the apiary, said: “Bee keeping is for everyone, we accept everyone and everyone who wants to have a go, from 5 years old to 85.”
The project uses beekeeping to bring people together, support mental wellbeing, and create inclusive spaces for learning, healing, and growth.
Its side lead Christine Newman added: “Learning about the bees, learning about their life and their structure and their hive nature makes me think what we see in a beehive, we can bring into the community: connections, supporting each other and this hive mentality.”
In Ipswich, funding supported a Parkinson’s boxing class offering both physical and social benefits, while in Essex a grant to a Connect and Dance class for women over 50 has helped build an inclusive, supportive community for its members.
In the latest round of funding, 27 projects across the East of England have been awarded grants, including:
- Cambridge Women’s Resource Centre which received funding to expand its free counselling service for vulnerable women
- Cycling Projects which has been awarded a grant to establish a new inclusive cycling hub in Colchester, Essex using specialist adapted cycles which will enable disabled people, older adults and those with health conditions to participate in cycling
- River Church Ipswich, which has received funding to launch its Applaud Coffee Academy, providing barista training and employability coaching for young people and vulnerable adults
- and Dereham Cancer Care in Norfolk which has been awarded a grant to provide social and therapeutic support activities for people affected by cancer and their families.
Angela Carpenter, East of England’s Co-op community support lead, said: “Every project we support through our Community Cares Fund is making a difference to local people’s lives and bringing them together to build stronger, more connected communities. Going out to visit these projects as they go from strength to strength is a real privilege. Over £1.2m has gone into making this possible since 2020, and we’re proud to keep that going.”
This latest announcement follows a summer in which East of England colleagues raised over £60,000 for charities of their choice through the retailer’s Local Giving initiative.
Full list of funding recipients on East of England Co-op’s Community Cares Fund page.
