Shoppers' cash boost for Wigan charities

Store manager Steven Blakeley stands along side the totalizer with Brian Drury from the garden project in Standish

The Co-op has revealed that £95,000 will be shared across 17 organisations in the borough, which includes Wigan and Leigh Hospice, Twinkle House and Amplify Youth Group.

This latest payout means that the Co-op has invested a total of £192,000 in 62 groups in Wigan since the membership scheme was launched in September 2016.

Co-op members, who receive a five per cent reward for themselves with a further one per cent going to local causes when they buy own-brand products, have a say in how the money is allocated, and are encouraged to select the organisations they wish to support online.

Rebecca Birkbeck, Director of Community Engagement at the Co-op, said: “Since the launch of the local community fund our members have helped 12,000 organisations to make a positive difference in their neighbourhoods, and in the last 12 months alone we have invested £19m in local causes.

“The fund is now supporting a wide variety of local organisations, from village halls and support groups to neighbourhood watch schemes, all of which are helping to make Wigan a better, happier, and healthier place to live.”

Here’s how the money was shared out among local charities:

27th Wigan Scout Group - £4,670.29;

Wigan & Leigh Young Carers - £6,130.12;

Wigan Flashes Conservation and Community Group - £4,843.77;

Pemberton Old Wigan Brass Band - £5,581.37;

Standish Methodist Church garden project- £5,806.70;

Hair with Care - £5,790.05;

25th St Helens (Billinge) Scout Group - £8,013.75;

Amplify Youth Group - £3,454.46;

Sew Science - £8,030.23;

Joseph’s Goal - £6,162.28;

MedEquip4Kids - £5,873.64;

Prevent Unwanted Pets Wigan Branch - £3,226.97;

The John Marshall Fund - £3,774.65;

Wigan and Leigh Hospice - £3,266.96;

16th Wigan Scout Group - £4,648.19;

Twinkle House - £4,029.52;

Bispham hall scout estate - £11,320.09.