Terminus Bowling Club win funding for new shed

Tony MacIntyre, president of the Terminus Bowling Club, cut the ribbon to celebrate the installation of the £1,300 shed.

This was the first time that the club had ever applied for money from an outside source.

Trevor Smith, a trustee, said: “We never dreamed that we would be successful the first time. The members were delighted to have been successful in our application for a Central England C-operative Community Dividend Award.

“The grant has been used to erect a secure storage unit which will be used to store chemicals and fertiliser that are used on the green and we hope to have this in place for the new 2018 season.

“As one of the oldest bowling greens in Chesterfield, the existing members are very pro-active in recruiting new members, young and old, and we want to ensure that they can come and play in a safe environment.

“The generosity of the Central England Co-op will certainly help us to achieve that.”

In 2017, a total of 122 groups and organisations shared £209,000 to spend on a wide variety of projects thanks to the fund. Twenty-three groups in Derbyshire shared more than £35,000 during that period.

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area of 16 counties from the Midlands to the east coast.

Martyn Cheatle, chief executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “The Community Dividend Fund reflects a key principle of our society, in that we reward the loyalty of our customers by investing in and supporting local communities.

“I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the Community Dividend Fund scheme.”

People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund.

Find out how to become a member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing [email protected] or visiting https://www.members.coop