Tag: cause

Co-operative community and care services expand to High Wycombe

Posted on by ashleymarsh

A free bereavement care service is now available in High Wycombe after one of the town’s funeral branches became part of an independent, regional co-operative.

The Bereavement Care service is offered by Southern Co-op to everyone in its local communities – regardless of whether they have used its services.

The free service is designed to help and support people struggling to deal with bereavement.

Since The Co-operative Funeralcare in Dashwood Avenue became part of Southern Co-op, the branch has also been fully refurbished.

Cared for by Funeral Co-ordinator Joanne Hoskins, the branch is now complete with a welcoming entrance area, a peaceful arrangement room and a calming reflection room.

Steve Pearce, Southern Co-op’s Chief Operating Officer for End of Life Services, said: “Since we welcomed the High Wycombe branch and colleagues into our family, we have been privileged to experience the high level of care which they offer local families and loved ones.

“It’s therefore a pleasure to be able to expand this personalised support and care through our Bereavement Care service as well as our community programme which is a mix of colleague volunteering, goods donations and funding possibilities.”

Via its Love Your Neighbourhood programme, Southern Co-op is committed to building a culture of neighbourliness, inspiring colleagues, members and customers to be community minded every day.

As well as colleague volunteering and goods donations, local causes can currently apply for funding of up to £500. The local funding is available for local causes which are working to create greener, healthier, safer and more inclusive neighbourhoods.

Funeral Co-ordinator Joanne, who lives locally in a small village just outside High Wycombe, said: “Having previously worked at the Beaconsfield branch before moving to High Wycombe in 2020, I recognise how important it is ensure someone’s final journey is personal and one to remember. It is all about the families we serve.

“As a 54-year-old mum of four and a loving nanny to my two wonderful grandchildren, I take great pride in my work and looking after my families is such a privilege.

“I treat their family member how I would expect my loved ones to be treated with respect, love and compassion.”

To find out more about Bereavement Care, visit www.bereavementcare.uk.

Sleeping bags and toiletries needed for Havant’s homeless

Posted on by ashleymarsh

Residents are being asked to dig deep into the backs of their cupboards and donate any unwanted goods to help the homeless.

Help for Havant Homeless is a non-profit organisation currently collecting donations to help support the homeless in the Havant borough council area.

To help with the donations, Southern Co-op’s funeral branch in Leigh Park has set up a collection point which colleagues hope to keep open throughout the winter and into 2021.

Help for Havant Homeless is looking for donations which will help the homeless through the cold months such as sleeping bags, toiletries and torches.

Charlene Price, a community volunteer, said: “So far the public have been fantastic. We’ve had lots of donations and are needing help in keeping the donations coming in, especially items such as tinned food and petrol as it involves a lot of driving around. It’s been a real team effort with founders Lisa and Jason Martin and Rio on social media.

“We have local business people helping and the kindness and generosity of people have been amazing such as Heidis in Emsworth which donates food it is unable to keep for the next day.

“If anyone is aware of a homeless person in the Havant Borough Council area it would be great for us to be notified, then we can go out and have a chat with them to see if we can help in any way, even if it’s just to hand out food to them. We will soon be working alongside Two Saints which supports people who are homeless, vulnerable or at risk of becoming homeless.”

Help for Havant Homeless delivers a hot meal three times a week plus anything else they need, such as a tent.

Petrol can be donated via Tesco gift cards and goods donations can be made Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm at The Co-operative Funeralcare – Leigh Park, at 224 Dunsbury Way.

Rachel Cast, Funeral Co-ordinator at the branch which is part of Southern Co-op – the regional co-operative, said: “I wanted to get involved to help out in our local community and actually to make a difference to someone who needs it.

“The donations will be really positive and hopefully help the people who need it most.”

Specific requests for Help for Havant Homeless are currently put on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Help-for-Havant-Homeless-115572733622637/ or questions can be emailed to helpforthehomeless@outlook.com.

Cancelled: Emsworth hat event

Posted on by ashleymarsh

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE BELOW EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.

Funeral directors will be exchanging their top hats for something a little bit different at the end of March to celebrate Wear A Hat Day 2020.

Hat wearers from Emsworth and beyond are invited to join colleagues at The Co-operative Funeralcare and Cafe Moka on Friday 27 March for cakes, coffee and hats.

Set to be the biggest, boldest and ‘hattiest’ yet, Wear A Hat Day is an awareness day for Brain Tumour Research

Funeral co-ordinators at The Co-operative Funeralcare – Emsworth decided to get involved this year and hold an event in memory of their colleague, Roger Gregory, who passed away from a brain tumour earlier this year.

Cath Walter, Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “Roger was a much loved colleague and friend so the event will mean we can give a special nod to a special man.

“We are really grateful to have Café Moka, in North Street on board as everyone can come and enjoy cakes whilst wearing a hat of their choice.

“Plus there will be plastic wrist bands and lapel badges to buy on the day. It’s time to put our best hats forward!”

The event will take place from 8am until 4pm on Friday 27 March.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Emsworth is part of the local co-operative Southern Co-op which has a community engagement programme to help communities become greener, healthier, safer and more inclusive.

To find our more about Wear A Hat Day in Emsworth, contact The Co‑operative Funeralcare ‑ Emsworth on 01243 376458 or via EmsworthFuneral@southerncoops.co.uk.

Donation helps a mother’s campaign to get people talking about drugs

Posted on by ashleymarsh

A mother, whose daughter tragically died after taking drugs at a festival, has high hopes for the new year as a financial boost will allow her to continue spreading her important message.

Since she lost her daughter in 2018, Janine Milburn has been working hard to get more people talking about drugs in a bid that others’ lives might be saved.

Janine, who works full time at a care home near Chichester, has spent the last year talking at various groups about her campaign ‘Georgia Jones Don’t Go With The Flo’ which looks at harm reduction and related topics such as peer pressure in teenagers.

She wants to keep these talks free and available to everyone but she is reliant on donations and has just received £500 from The Co-operative Funeralcare in Leigh Park.

Tracy Newman, Funeral Co-ordinator at the branch which is part of Southern Co-op, said: “Janine is an incredibly inspiring woman and she is so dedicated to what she is doing. My colleague Rachel Cast supported her with her daughter’s funeral and we’ve followed her campaign over the last year.

“We hope the donation will enable her to continue spreading important information about drugs. If just one life is saved then it has been worth it.”

Janine recently spoke at Hayling College and said the response from pupils and teachers was absolutely brilliant.

She also has some exciting news which she hopes to reveal in the next few months which will enable her to get the message to even more school children across the county.

Janine said: “I have spent a lot of time talking and waiting and making sure what I offer fits into what schools need to educate their pupils safely. There is a fine line between educating kids and putting ideas into their heads.

“In the last 18 months I have learnt so much. The more I have delved into it, the more I have realised there isn’t the resources out there.

Janine Milburn

There are just a handful of people like me.

“There’s a lot of people who just don’t want to talk about drugs but Portsmouth is one of the worst cities in England for drug related deaths. A lot of dealers are selling through social media. It’s scary.

“You get a lot of people who say it’s their own fault as they knew what they were doing. Georgia thought she knew what she was doing but she didn’t have a clue. They all think they are invincible.

“MDMA when it its purest form can be dangerous but it’s also a drug that gets mixed with dangerous things. The more people talk about it, the more they can learn.”

Full details of the campaign can be found on Facebook via https://www.facebook.com/flos2018/.

For further details on Southern Co-op’s community investment programme ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/makingadifference/.

Call for Alton villagers to nominate a local cause

Posted on by ashleymarsh

As a new funeral home in Alton is preparing to open its doors to the public, residents are being asked to nominate a local cause in need.

The appeal is being made by Southern Co-op – an independent, regionally owned co-operative society – who is opening the new funeral home at 71 High Street, Alton.

Residents are being asked to identify a cause which means something to the community and links in with Southern Co-op’s ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ themes – creating greener, safer, healthier or more inclusive neighbourhoods.

Jessica Hughes, Community Investment Manager at Southern Co-op, said: “Every year we are able to support a wide variety of charities and good causes though our ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ programme. This could be anything from local schools and men’s sheds to hospitals and mental health charities.

“Our colleagues across our retail stores and funeral homes have a passion for helping their local communities so we like to start how we mean to go on. Being part of Southern Co-op, this funeral home will benefit from our community engagement programme which includes opportunities for donations, volunteering and fundraising.”

Alton’s Co-operative Funeralcare is set to open on 25 March.

People have until 25 April to nominate the charity closest to their hearts as they are asked to think of a project which will really benefit the local community. This could be for any local cause and is not limited to registered charities.

To make a suggestion of a local cause, email community@southerncoops.co.uk and mention Alton Co-operative Funeralcare.

For more information about Southern Co-op’s ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ scheme, click here.

Funeral home horses around for charity

Posted on by ashleymarsh

Football teams in Whitchurch are one step closer to the light as a charity race night raised £1,145 for the cause.

Hosted by Southern Co-op’s funeral home in Whitchurch, more than 80 people turned up to the race night on 28 July.

The fundraiser was held in aid of Longmeadow Sports and Social Club to raise money for new training lights for the local football teams.

Jessie Chamberlain and Denise Meaden, Southern Co-op Funeral Co-ordinators in Whitchurch, said: “There was excellent support on the night with everyone enjoying the excitement of the races.

“We were really impressed with the turnout and it meant that the event had an excellent atmosphere. The races may not have been live but a lot of us felt like we were there at the side of the track.

“By the end we were on an amazing high. Raising so much money for our local club means a lot to us. We are proud to be part of our local community.”

On the night, punters paid to become the sponsor of a horse for each race before a real life race was played out on the big screen.

There was also a chance to get porky as the big finale was none other than a pig race.

Although the pigs were not running live, the bidding to become the owner of each pig was feverish with £150 being paid in total.

With each race, the owner or sponsor of the winning animal received the race’s prize.

There was also a raffle which raised extra funds for the special cause.

Click here to find out more about Southern Co-op’s commitment to the local community.