Information from the Co-op
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Co-operating with communities during the Coronavirus crisis
The problem and how Co-op can help Community is at the heart of our Co-op.
We know that there is a lot of great work that government, NHS, Royal Voluntary
Service and others are already doing. We are working with these organisations
and others on how best to support our communities across the UK.
We've identified four areas that we can help with right now, which link with
what we do as a Co-op:
Supporting vulnerable customers with food
Getting access to food is critical and we are committed to ensuring nobody
goes without. We are supporting our Academy students with a £20 voucher
up until the end of Easter and providing a mechanism for other schools eligible
for free school meals across the UK.
We'll be showing our support for all NHS and other key workers through #clapforourcarers,
taking place at 8pm each Thursday.
Over the next 10 weeks we'll be donating £1.5m worth of products to Fareshare
who work with 11,000 charities, community groups and foodbanks.
Securing funding
Access to financial support will be vital to enable charities to continue the
great work they do in communities. Co-op are supporting the National Emergency
Trust (NET) Appeal, encouraging people to raise funds for those effected by
the recent outbreak. NET will work with 46 foundations and charities to support
local communities across the UK. You can make a donation here.
In addition, through our Local Community Fund and thanks to our members, we're
delivering £4.5m to over 4,500 local causes across the UK.
The Co-op Foundation, Co-op's Charity, has pledged flexibility and has offered
an immediate six month 'repayment holiday' to all community groups.
Keeping connected
We may be apart but that doesn't mean we can't help each-other. We've built
a place to go online called Co-operate to help people do this, with online classes
and activities, as well as relevant schemes or organisations providing support.
You can find out more about Co-operate here.
Within our stores, people can use the acts of kindness postcodes to help their
local neighbour in need.
Finding volunteers
Now more than ever we need people in our communities to support each other.
Over 700 Co-op Member Pioneers are digitally connected in their communities
joining Covid-19 Mutual Aid groups but also sharing key resources, such as Co-operate.
If you need help, or you believe you have help to give, please visit our Co-operate
site.