Celebrating the success of Your Community Sites
This article will take approximately 3 minutes to read
Published 29 Aug 2024 in Colleagues
Supporting our local communities is at the heart of what we do, and our remarkable colleagues based at Your Community sites are committed to doing this every day. Read how we’ve been Doing good together within these sites since it launched.
Who are the Your Community sites?
Your Community sites are those that sit outside of our Regional Community programme. There are 170 Food, Childcare and Travel sites located from Newcastle to Southampton and many areas in between.
We have a Your Community Steering Group made up of key colleagues from trading groups and support teams, ensuring different views and the needs of the individual businesses are considered.
What have the Your Community sites been doing since September 2023?
Each Your Community site has a local primary school partner. Your Community sites’ initial focus was raising money to provide books to teach primary school children basic first aid. Our remarkable colleagues and members raised an amazing £20,000 to deliver this when they were targeted with £10,000!
What if…I needed First Aid Book
Tell me about the book ‘What if…I needed First Aid?’
Written by Rachel Greaves, a former primary school teacher, in association with Community Heartbeat Trust (our defibrillator charity partner) and in partnership with Your Coop, the book stars Ruffle the Train Dog. It contains various scenarios such as ‘What if…someone has a nosebleed?’ and ‘What if…someone got burnt?’.
Southampton Nursery
There are activities for the teacher to do with the students and the book is accompanied by a line-drawing resource pack for the students to colour in. Our Childcare team has also developed a simple PowerPoint presentation that can be used by colleagues or teachers to introduce the book to children in assembly or class.
Burton Travel
Carrick Pershore Travel
Hollyfield Road - Sutton Coldfield Food
What are the Your Community sites doing now?
In April 2024, the colleagues from Your Community sites voted overwhelmingly to continue to support their partner schools until May 2025 and to engage and develop their relationships. They are now all fundraising for projects or equipment the schools desperately need.
Worcester Travel
Our target was £10,000 but our Remarkable colleagues have raised an amazing £20,000 and any money left over from funding the First Aid book and resources will now go towards their target for this year. They have been busy presenting the ‘What if…I needed First Aid?’ book and accompanying resourcesto their partner schools, engaging to find out what items or projects they are desperately in need of and discussing fundraising plans with both the school and their teams for the coming year.
March Travel
Oakham Travel
Tadworth Nursery
They have identified a number of projects to support such as breakfast and holiday clubs, raising money for new library books and mental health initiatives, including help with a sensory garden. We will update their progress on this later in the year.
If you would like further information on the Your Community Sites please contact yourcoop.community@midcounties.coop.