Community News From Around Our Area

Warwickshire Young Carers Given £2,500 by the Heart of England Co-operative Society

The Heart of England Co-operative Society has handed £2,500 to Warwickshire Young Carers.

The group will use the money to support its work in identifying and providing support for children and young people in the county who care for siblings, parents or grandparents.

The money has come from the sales of 5p single-use carrier bags from Society food stores in Rugby and the surrounding villages. It comes after The Co-operative shoppers in Rugby were asked to vote for selected charities to receive a share of £5,000. Warwickshire Young Carers received the highest number of votes.

Steered by a group of 10 trustees, each with a background in teaching, caring or business, and most with experience in caring, Warwickshire Young Carers works with more than 2,700 young people aged six to 25, providing information, advice and guidance.

The charity also arranges regular breaks, social events and leisure and educational opportunities to allow carers time out from their responsibilities, so they are able to build and maintain friendships, and can confide in people who are able to listen and help.

Rachel Faulkner, CEO of Warwickshire Young Carers, which operates out of Ryton Gardens, said, “We are thrilled and extremely grateful to have received this generous donation. Young carers are experiencing added pressures and complexities to their everyday lives. This money helps us to make a positive impact during these unprecedented times. Thank you to the Co-operative shoppers for voting for us and to the Heart of England Co-operative Society for making this possible.”

With the second highest number of votes in Rugby, Crick Playing Fields Association received £1,500 while The Bradby Club, a youth club which has served Rugby for 100 years, received £1,000.

The three were among 15 charities across the Society’s trading area of Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire to receive a share of £25,000. The money comes from a government levy introduced in 2015.

Government statistics show that in 2014 customers used more than 7.6 billion single-use bags, equating to 61,000 tonnes or 140 bags for every person in Britain.

After the levy was introduced in 2015 sales of the bags in major supermarkets fell by 86 per cent, equating to just 19 bags per person in 2016/17.

By 2018 the number of bags sold had further fallen, with 1.75 billion sold during the year.