Tamworth Co-op

Members of North Warwickshire Retired Miners Club will have two coach outings and a Christmas party to thank the Tamworth Co-op for once 2013 is out.
Secretary Andrew Brown says the cheque he received for £579 from the Tamworth Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund ‘astonished’ all the members.
“To be honest they were over the moon, and I just don’t know how the Tamworth Co-op can do this,” he said.
“It’s a great scheme and the money will really help a lot of pensioners who attend the club. It’s the second time the Tamworth Co-op has helped us.”
The club has already organised a trip to RAF Cosford and members are now planning an outing to the seaside. They will also have money left over to put towards a Christmas party with all the trimmings in December.
Helaina Liddiard, senior supervisor at The Dordon convenience store handed over the money at a recent meeting of the club.

Tamworth Co-operative Society is helping a flourishing group of village volunteers to plant the seeds of success.
Rosliston in Bloom has received £755 from the Society’s Community Dividend Fund to pay for this year’s spectacular floral display which will also include vegetables.
The cheque was presented to group secretary Caroline Alston by Victoria Freeman, manager of the village’s Tamworth Co-op convenience store.
“We are delighted to support Rosliston in Bloom, particularly as the theme of this year’s display is Edible Britain,” said Mrs Freeman.
“The Tamworth Co-op actively supports British farmers by supplying home grown food and so the 2013 theme certainly wins our approval. We would like to thank all our customers in Rosliston who so generously donated their dividends to this cause. I’m sure the display will be enjoyed by everybody in the village.”
Caroline Alston said the money was greatly appreciated by the volunteers, especially with bad weather delaying this year’s growing season.
“We would like thank the Tamworth Co-op and local shoppers for supporting us through this excellent community scheme,” she said.
“Rosliston in Bloom is important to all the community as it helps to promote the village and boost tourism. We will be trying our very best to put on an impressive display. This year will be quite different as we intend to mix vegetables with flowers. After the judging has finished we will be inviting people to come along and help themselves.”

A group of volunteers dedicated to enhancing a nature reserve near Tamworth have had their efforts rewarded for the second time in three years by the Tamworth Co-operative Society.
The Friends of Warwickshire Moor in Bolehall has received a cheque for £746 from the Society’s Community Dividend Fund.
Group secretary Pam Clark says the money will be spent on a new information board and will also help repair sections of a circular boardwalk which have rotted after being submerged in flood water from the River Anker.
In 2011 the group received a similar sum from the Society which helped to finance the completion of an all-weather circuit of pathways for walkers.
“The new information board will be placed at the entrance to the walk and will contain information on such things as wildlife,” said Pam.
“We want people to enjoy the moor which is very close to Tamworth town centre and we are extremely grateful to the Tamworth Co-op for again supporting our efforts.
“This is a brilliant scheme from a very ethical local organisation and it’s marvellous that each of its branches supports a different cause.”
The money for the Friends of Warwickshire Moor was raised by shoppers at the Bolehall convenience store donating the dividends they have earned on their purchases to the group. It’s just one of many causes being supported by the Society this year with more than £10,000 being handed out.

Pupils at Wood End Primary School were devastated when a hobbit hole they had constructed in a woodland area was recently vandalised. But they are smiling again now having taken delivery of an exciting new treat – a wooden igloo.
The willow igloo, which comes in kit form, was funded by money from the Tamworth Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund which benefits a host of community causes every year.
Head teacher Deena Morrey said she was amazed that £811 had been raised through shoppers at the Wood End convenience store generously donating the dividends they had earned on their purchases to the school’s cause.
“We’ve benefited from this excellent Tamworth Co-op scheme before and we were delighted by how much we got then,” she said.
“But to receive more than £800 this year is amazing and we are using the money to buy items which are all related to the Forest School project.
“The igloo is a living thing and the children will help to assemble it. There will even be some learning activities held inside the igloo. We will be able to buy more items too and the money will also fund an outing to a Forest School centre for some of the older children.
“It would not have been possible for us to do any of these things without this money. We just want to say thank you to the Tamworth Co-op and everybody who helped us at the Wood End store. It’s making a difference to pupils aged between 4 and 10.”
The concept of Forest Schools came to Britain from Scandinavia where it has been part of the education programme since the 1950s. It enables small groups of children to experience activities in a woodland environment. Activities include building shelters, identifying flora and fauna and creating art with natural materials.

A Tamworth charity which caters for young people with special needs is celebrating a £1,522 windfall from the Tamworth Co-op.
SPIN (Special People In Need) is a support group formed in 1988 by a group of parents and carers of young people. It has evolved into a youth club with around 150 members who meet every Wednesday at Tamworth Youth Centre in Spinning School Lane from 7.15pm-9.30pm.
The group caters for people aged 13 plus and recently had its youth funding withdrawn by Staffordshire County Council because many of its members are aged over 25.
SPIN leader Sylvia Geldard says the amount of money the group received from the Tamworth Co-op has left everybody ‘over the moon.’
“We are now at a stage where we are completely self-funded and to get this cheque is just brilliant,” she said.
“We’ve been organising a prom on an annual basis for a while now and this money will help us make it even better.
“We’ve had so many members asking about it. They absolutely love it. In addition to the prom, this will also boost our general kitty.”

The sky’s the limit for a group of Polesworth air cadets after they were handed a cheque for £1,305 from one of Tamworth’s best-known businesses.
1200 (Polesworth) Air Training Corps will use the money from the Tamworth Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund to buy a flight simulator to gain a realistic experience of flying aircraft.
Shoppers at Polesworth’s Co-op convenience store helped to raise the money by donating their dividends to the ATC.
Each Co-op outlet supports a separate community organisation through the dividend scheme, with more than £30,000 having been given away during the last three years.
Flt Lt Gavin Walker says the group was ‘astonished’ to receive such a large amount.
“The Tamworth Co-op has come up with a fabulous scheme and it was humbling to receive that amount of money. Our grateful thanks go to everybody who helped with this.
“The flight simulator is a sophisticated piece of equipment and will really help our cadets to gain a realistic cockpit experience. In addition to improving aviation skills, it will also involve other new skills such as air traffic control.“

Tamworth Co-operative Society has forked out £750 to boost the coffers of a bereavement support group following two gourmet meals hosted by South Staffs College.
The silver-service functions, a joint initiative between the Society and South Staffs College, enabled guests to enjoy a gastronomic treat while raising money for the South Staffs branch of Cruse Bereavement Care.
Tamworth catering students prepared and served the lavish spread using quality British produce donated by the Tamworth Co-op. A four-course dinner and a three-course lunch were held in the Perrycroft Restaurant, part of the college’s Tamworth campus. All proceeds from the meals went to South Staffs Cruse, a charity which helps families and individuals of all ages to deal with the pain of grief.
Tamworth Co-op raised funds for the charity earlier this year and is also allowing it use of its main funeral premises in Upper Gungate.
After presenting the cheque to David Thompson, of South Staffs Cruse Bereavement Care, the Society’s general funeral manager Amanda Woodward said she was delighted that the proceeds of the meal would help such an important cause.
“This is a charity close to our hearts and one which does vital work in the community. It’s an issue which touches us all, from children to the elderly, and there is strong demand for bereavement support.”

Two gourmet meals featuring the best of British food donated by the Tamworth Co-op will boost a bereavement support group’s efforts to re-establish a base in the town.

The annual lunch and dinners organised jointly between Tamworth Co-operative Society and South Staffs College are silver service occasions which help to perfect the skills of catering students.

All proceeds from the events on May 16 and 17 will go to South Staffordshire Cruse, an organisation which helps families and individuals of all ages to deal with the pain of grief. The Co-op has already raised funds for the charity and is currently allowing it use of its main funeral premises in Upper Gungate.

“The produce we give to the college is our own label and of very high quality,” said Bob Read, Tamworth Co-op’s senior general manager.

“The meals are astonishing value for money and fit in with our policy of supporting British farmers. But anybody wanting to attend will have to act very quickly as tickets have been selling very rapidly.”

The dinner costs just £16.50 per person with the lunch being priced at £11.50. Both meals will be served at the College’s Perry Croft Restaurant in the George Crook building, Croft Street, Tamworth. The dinner will begin at 6.30 pm with the lunch at 12.15pm the following day.

The dinner starts with British country style fresh vegetable soup. A stuffed fillet of chicken en croute will then be followed by tender lamb noisette with orange and honey. Dessert consists of either apple meringue tart, strawberry choux with caramel sauce or raspberry sponge. Dinner will be rounded off with coffee and mints.

The three-course lunch promises to be equally mouth-watering. The starter is salmon fishcakes with citrus mayonnaise on dressed rocket. A main course of chicken breast à la king (in a cream, sherry sauce with red pimento) will then be served with a selection of home-sourced seasonal vegetables. A choice of dessert will again finish with coffee and mints.

For ticket information contact Maria Pursglove on 01827 63711 or contact Tamworth College on 01827 310202.

The Tamworth Co-op would like to remind all members that tickets are still available for the social trips to Windsor Castle on September 7, and to Birmingham Hippodrome to see The Lion King on September 12. For more information contact Maria Pursglove on 01827 63711.