Charity of the Year with the Co-operative Group
ENABLE SCOTLAND AND MENCAP WIN CHARITY OF THE YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CO-OPERATIVE GROUP
The Co-operative Group today announced that its employees have chosen learning disability charity ENABLE Scotland and sister charity Mencap, as its Charity of the Year partners for 2011.
Aiming to raise £5 million for the charities, The Co-operative will embark on a year-long, fun-filled and creative programme of fundraising, to help transform the lives and dreams of 20,000 young people with a learning disability.
More than 42,000 employees of The Co-operative took part in the Charity of the Year selection and the new partnership will be officially launched in January 2011. The Co-operative’s support will allow ENABLE Scotland and Mencap to launch a ground-breaking programme offering more support to young people with a learning disability including a range of volunteering, employment and community involvement opportunities.
Many young people with a learning disability are too afraid of being bullied to go out and do the things others take for granted - for some, prejudice and exclusion cause them to lose all self-belief and ambition for the future.
To kick-off the partnership between The Co-operative Group and ENABLE Scotland, the charity will be supporting The Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final draw at Hampden Park on Friday 29th October. ENABLE Scotland Ambassador, Ross Ward will make the draw alongside Joe Cairney, Regional Manager for The Co-operative Insurance in Scotland.
The charity will also benefit from bucket collections at both the semi-final matches scheduled for 29th and 30th January 2010 and, the final at Hampden Park on 20th March 2011.
Peter Scott, ENABLE Scotland’s chief executive, said: "Our partnership with The Co-operative is a fantastic opportunity to transform the lives for a generation of young people who have learning disabilities. Every bit of support provided will make a tremendous and positive impact – please do all you can to make that difference.
A learning disability should not mean you are much more likely to be unemployed, to live in poverty or to be socially excluded, bullied and harassed. It does. The Co-operative Group is helping ENABLE Scotland to change that. Thank you."
Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative Group, said: “We have set ourselves a tough target of raising £5m for this very worthwhile cause. However, I am confident that with the help of our supportive staff, customers and members across our family of businesses, ENABLE Scotland and Mencap will be able to make a massive difference to thousands of young people in the UK with a learning disability.
This partnership will play a key role in helping us bring about a cultural shift in the way young people are viewed and treated in this country - a key objective of our Inspiring Young People programme. Together we can give 20,000 young people the opportunity to transform their lives by gaining the skills and confidence needed to play a more active part in society.”
Mark Goldring, Mencap’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by The Co-operative Group to be its Charity of the Year, and look forward to working closely with the Group’s staff, members and customers to help as many young people as possible to aim high and fulfil their dreams. Having a learning disability should never mean that a young person is victimised or ignored. The Co-operative Charity of the Year support will help us to empower young people with a learning disability to challenge these prejudices and inspire others to see the person and not the disability.”
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Notes to editors
About the Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group stands apart from other major retailers in the UK as a business which is owned, not by a small group of shareholders, but by more than five million consumers. With core interests in food, financial services, travel, pharmacy, funerals and farms, it has an annual turnover of £15 billion, employs 120,000 staff and operates over 5,000 retail trading outlets serving more than 20 million customers per week.
Following the acquisition of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009, The Co-operative Food is the fifth largest food retailer. The Co-operative Financial Services is one of the largest and most diversified financial mutual businesses, operating The Co-operative Bank, The Co-operative Insurance and Britannia.
The Co-operative is the UK’s number one provider of funeral services, the third largest retail pharmacy chain, a leading travel retailer, supplying the travel needs of more than three million people annually, and is the UK’s largest farmer.
Among its other businesses are The Co-operative Motor Group, The Co-operative Electrical Shop and The Co-operative Legal Services.
About ENABLE Scotland
ENABLE Scotland is the country’s leading charity for children and adults with learning disabilities. We are a member-led organisation. Local ENABLE branches are made up of volunteers, mostly people with learning disabilities and their families and carers.
ENABLE Scotland was formed in 1954 by a group of families whose lives were affected by learning disability. We campaign for people with learning disabilities to live full and independent lives. We also provide services to allow people to live, work and take part in their communities. Visit
www.ENABLE.org.uk for more information.
About Mencap
Mencap supports the 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK and their families and carers. Mencap fights to change laws and improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities, supporting thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.
We are also one of the largest providers of services, information and advice for people with a learning disability across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. See
www.mencap.org.uk for more information.
About learning disability
A learning disability is caused by the way the brain develops before, during or shortly after birth. It is always lifelong and affects someone's intellectual and social development. It used to be called mental handicap but this term is outdated and offensive. Learning disability is NOT a mental illness. The term learning difficulty is often incorrectly used interchangeably with learning disability.