Midlands
Co-op People
As the leading community retailer in the Midlands, we believe in investing in the communities in which we trade. Through our Community Dividend Scheme we pledge to return 1% of our trading profit to local organizations and good causes on an annual basis. Similarly, through our donations fund we support small requests for fund-raising activities.
Our employees too give generously of their time in support of our corporate charity. But their activities do not stop there!
Effective Management Programme
Each year groups of Midlands Co-op managers are invited to participate in an Effective Management Programme covering modules that include coaching and performance management and business influencing. The course aims to engage middle managers in developing their leadership, team work, problem-solving, and coaching skills, as well as business influencing and personal effectiveness. The culmination of this intensive course – some might say the highlight! – is the fulfillment of a community project, which the course participants have to source and work on as a team to complete within a set timescale.
Three projects have been undertaken over the past 12 months.
In September 05 an intrepid team of ten set to work to give a building a mini-makeover in Chaddesden Park Derby. The building housed the rangers’ office, café, toilets and bowling green – and had been subject to graffiti. It was in desperate need of redecorating. Utalising their teamwork skills, our employees set to over a two-day period, removing graffiti, installing new graffiti boards, creating a planted area and decorating the exterior of the building. The finishing touch was to paint a mural on the back wall, overlooking the bowling green. The Chair of Chaddesden Park Friends Group said: “We are very pleased that Midlands Co-op has taken an interest in the park and made this its project and delighted with the support of the Youth Service, Anti Social Behaviour Team and members of park staff too.
In April 06 another team adopted a special needs school in Selly Oak, Birmingham for a two-day period. The Society was already working with the school and it made sense to cement those links further. The project provides an excellent example of how business an schools can work together to mutual benefit. Additional support was received from colleagues in Funeral, Retail and Member Relations. Following a series of planning meetings the EMP team decided to organize a two-day workshop for pupils. The first workshop was focused on flower-arranging, using the skills of Midlands Co-op local florists, and supported work some of the students were already doing on a C&G Commercial Floristry course. At the end of the course, the proud pupils donated their floral creations to service-users within a local Hospice. The second workshop revolved around the issue of Fair Trade – already under discussion by the students as part of a health and social studies programme. Part of the workshop entailed bringing the pupils into our nearby superstore, and discussing with them how Fair Trade goods were promoted.
The third project, which took place in September 06, was based at Brook Farm Animal Sanctuary in Northamptonshire. Again the Society had already forged a relationship with the owners of the Sanctuary and was keen to provide further support for this worthy cause. The team of ten turned their skills to cleaning a field and building enclosures for some of the Sanctuary’s homeless livestock. This included erecting a poultry house for the farm’s rescued chickens and turkeys. The newly-formed field has also provided the sheep and goat with a safe place to roam and graze! In addition, the team created an information leaflet and exhibition panel for the farm, to enable it to take its message out to a wider audience at fundraising and other events. The second facet of the project was to support the sanctuary’s aim of educating youngsters about the responsibilities attached to pet ownership. Part of the project team’s task was to devise and educational leaflet for pupils and to liaise with a local primary school regarding the subject of pet ownership. A lesson plan was also created for teachers to deliver as part of the national curriculum.
Support for grieving families
All our businesses recognize the importance of working with their local communities.
Our Funeral business sees its responsibilities as much wider than providing a funeral service to bereaved families. In December 04, it organized a remembrance service for bereaved families at St Philip’s Cathedral in Birmingham. This proved such a popular event, providing comfort to so many, that remembrance services now feature prominently in our Funeral Services’ activities. The most recent services were held at St Nicholas Church on the Green, Kings Norton, Birmingham in July and at Birmingham’s oldest church, St Martin’s in the Bullring. Mark Kennedy, Regional Manager at Midlands co-operative Funeral Services said: ‘Our Remembrance Services have been an unprecedented success. So many people found them to be a truly healing experience, which helped them in some small way to move on and come to terms with their grief. We feel it is important to support our families, not just when we deal with the funeral, but also afterwards to help them through the grieving process.’
A ‘Celebration of life’ is the theme of an annual event that takes place at the National Arboretum (NMA) in Alrewas, Staffordshire, which is jointly hosted by the NMA and Midlands Co-op. In 2002 Midlands Co-op joined forces with the NMA to offer families the opportunity to plant a blossom tree in memory of a loved one as a celebration of life. The memorial will grow from a sapling to a mature tree and be part of the landscape for the next 150-200 years. Each tree carries a small plaque recording the loved one’s name and details and a personal certificate is provided for the family to keep. The mixed blossom trees have been planted in a crescent formation in the Midlands Co-op Celebration of Life Avenue, providing a peaceful place for families to reflect.
Local fundraising
Individual employees regularly participate in fund-raising activities for present or past corporate charities, or for causes close to their hearts. In all these ventures, support is provided by friends and colleagues within the Society.
In spring 2006, Kay Bruce, a Funeral Trainer put her best foot forward to raise over £400 for children with cancer and leukaemia, by completing a 270-mile trel in and around Rutland.
Rob Burford, who works at our Leicester Carriage Builders’ transport business, headed off to Zambia between 2-20 April 06 to help transform a derelict building in Livingstone into a fully equipped maternity Unit at the Rainbow Africa Medical Centre.
Paul Clarke, a non-food supervisor at our Melton Mowbray supermarket set off to Honduras in Central America in April 06 to help orphaned children in the city of La Ceiba. Paul’s mission was to help refurbish a school and orphanage built for street children to use.
Former Midlands Co-op President, Wilf Lee, took to the Himilayas to complete a sponsored ten-day hike for his favoured charity, Help the Aged. And whilst the hard work was down to Wilf, the massive support he received from colleagues across the Society enabled him to raise £3,400. Wilf said: ‘Help the Aged provides a lifeline to so many elderly people that I jumped at the chance to support the charity by helping with its fundraising efforts, and in keeping with our Midlands Co-op values, I hope my small effort will make a difference.’
A favourite charity for staff working in Funeral and Retail in Stirchley, Birmingham, is St Mary’s Hospice. Over the past two years, caring customers and staff have raised over £25,000 for this essential facility. Fundraising activities included sponsored walks, car boot sales, raffles, themed days, a 1940s party and Balti nights. Fundraising efforts were aided by those attending remembrance service organized by Funeral Services donated generously to the cause at the end of the services.
Working with young people
Schoolchildren can now learn more about Fair Trade , thanks to a new educational pack devised by East Midlands Co-operatives’ Education Committee, which was funded by Midlands Co-op. Written for Key Stage 11 pupils aged 10 to 12, the education pack teaches children about all aspects of Fair Trade. The pack was compiled by Karen Ball, Member Relations Officer for Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, and Tanya Noon, Member Relations Officer for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Each pack contains a CD Rom, a selection of case studies, learning guides, teaching notes and chocolate trade game.
Tanya Noon also stepped in, together with Angela Buckley from one of our local funeral businesses, Wellings, to provide pupils at William Shrewsbury School in Stretton with help for their Young Enterprise project. The duo was invited to attend five, one-hour lessons, to deliver a project to year 3 pupils on the topic of ‘Our Community’. This included sessions about how a community operates, who lives in it, how taxes are paid by workers as well as how democratic decision-making works. The final session considered how money moves around a community, concluding with a certificate ceremony. In addition to the ‘Our Community’ project, Tanya also delivered a course to year 5 pupils at the school on Fairtrade and the Co-op. This looked at co-operative businesses both in the East Midlands and in third world countries.
In July 06 Midlands Co-op became a Corporate Partner of The Prince’s Trust. The three-year sponsorship deal will enable The Prince’s Trust in Staffordshire to continue helping young people across the country. The Prince’s Trust was set up in 1976 by HRH The Prince of Wales to help young people to overcome barriers and get their lives working. Through practical support including training, mentoring and financial assistance, The Prince’s Trust has helped more than half a million young people over the past 30 years. Rika Meynell, Area General Manager for the Prince’s Trust in Staffordshire said: ‘ Our Corporate Partner scheme is vitally important. We are delighted that Midlands Co-op ill be helping us in this way over the next three years.’
Karen Ward, Travel Training Officer with Midlands Co-op Travel swapped
the training room for the classroom when she helped a group of Solihull;
sixth-formers with their studies. The students concerned were studying
for their level 2 national award in Leisure studies. In order to achieve
their customer service unit, they needed to know how a travel organization
looked after its customers and staff – which is where Karen stepped
in.
She said: ‘We are more than happy to help local educational establishments
where we can, especially in those areas where we can provide expert knowledge.’
Midlands Co-op – your community retailer.