VE Day, Executive Colleague Council & Childcare NHS Hero Fund Update

As we wait to see what the Prime Minister announces on Sunday about the next phase of the UK lockdown, we continue to be busy serving members and customers, helping to meet their needs during these unprecedented times. Thank you to you all for the brilliant work that you are doing, it is truly making a difference in the communities that we serve.

I also want to take the opportunity to say a special thank you to those colleagues who have been working behind the scenes helping to manage the delivery of the job retention scheme. So, to Sean McGovern, Nick Porter, Gail Moss, Susan Barguss, Beverley Capewell & James Lapworth, also known by their collective term “the furlough crew”, a thank you for all the effort and work you have put in to deliver this in a highly supportive and professional way, well done.

 

VE Day – 75^th Anniversary

Today marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day and as we celebrate across the nation it’s a time to reflect and pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the entire Second World War generation, from British, Commonwealth and Allied Forces to evacuees and those who served on the home front.

As we face some of the most challenging times since the end of the Second World War, now more than ever it is important to unite in recognition of service to the nation, just as communities did 75 years ago.

Activities to promote and celebrate this landmark 75th Anniversary are taking place across the society, including tributes in the windows of some of our funeral homes, in-store and window displays in food stores like this one below in our Kinver food store with a message that’s as relevant today as it was then. You can find out more about VE day and read a poem written for this 75^th anniversary by one of our own colleagues, Jools Farrell here.

A round-up of all the activity will feature in tomorrow’s communication and I’ll look forward to seeing the various displays.

Celebrating VE Day - A message in the Kinver food store window 

 

Executive Colleague Council

As part of the Colleague Engagement plan for the Society, we held an Executive Colleague Council on 7^th May. This was in a “virtual” format given the current circumstances.

The meeting was well attended, with some 25 colleague council reps from across the Society dialling in and joining the Executive team.

Rebekah Brain chaired the meeting, which covered a Society update from myself, questions from the Executive to colleagues on the call and a number of wide-ranging questions from the reps to the Executive. Those questions included subjects such as future plans for Home delivery; flexible working in the future; possible extension of our supply base & furlough arrangements.

A huge thank you to Rebekah for chairing this, and to both the colleague reps & the Executive for making this such a good meeting and making the time to attend. We will ensure that the minutes of this meeting, together with the questions raised and answers given, are published over the coming days in the normal way.

Over the next few weeks, we will also be reintroducing the standard Colleague Council meetings with as many groups as appropriate, via Skype or Teams. We’ll ensure these dates are circulated well in advance. As always, this will be a great opportunity to ensure your site representative makes sure your views and questions are discussed.

 

Co-op Childcare NHS Hero Fund reaches £42,000

 

Following the launch of the Childcare's NHS Hero’s fund at the beginning of April, I am pleased to say that this has now reached £42,000 including the initial £25,000 contribution from the Society.

The fund is already being put to good use. 150 key worker parents and careers who applied for the fund will benefit from a 50% reduction in the nursery fees during May. We’ve had some great feedback from parents and the Childcare team have put together this short video as a thank you to everyone who donated and to share some of the great feedback that we’ve received from parents who have benefited directly. You can view the video here.

 

Your AGM 2020 – Register today

 

Given the restrictions arising from the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time, we will be holding the Society’s Annual General meeting online. The AGM will take place on Saturday 16 May from 10:00am – 12:00 noon.

We are planning to make the event as engaging and interactive as we can ensuring members will have the opportunity to raise questions to the Board and senior management, in a live environment and for the first time, to vote online.

Hundreds of members have already registered, which is fantastic to see, however, this is a great opportunity for you to understand more about your Society, and we’d be grateful for your support in joining the meeting too.

As members, if you wish to, you can submit any questions that you may have for the board in advance. For further details, to register and to submit questions ahead of the day please click here.

 

Finally, I just wanted to reiterate how grateful I am to every single colleague who is working during this unprecedented period and I hope that you and your families enjoy the bank holiday weekend and the VE Day celebrations.