East of England Co-op customers raise over £33,000 for Ukraine
The East of England Co-op has thanked customers for donating more than £33,000 in store to date to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
To help raise money for the campaign, donation points were introduced at till points in store at the end of March, enabling customers to make contributions. The money donated is going to DEC’s group of 15 UK charities, which includes Save the Children and Oxfam, who help support the up to 18 million people who are expected to be affected.
So far, a remarkable £33,365 has been donated by East of England Co-op customers, with hopes to reach a target of £40,000. Two East of England Co-op stores in Woolpit, Suffolk and Manningtree and Burnham On Crouch in Essex, have raised raising an incredible £1,731 in total in just one month. In Rowhedge, Essex, a single donation of more than £200 was received from a local rowing club.
Commenting, Joint Chief Executive of the East of England Co-op, Niall O’Keeffe, said: “Solidarity is a fundamental value of every cooperative and, like everyone, we all feel desperately concerned for everyone affected by the situation in Ukraine.
“We would like to offer a huge thank you to our customers for their generosity so far in providing support to those affected by the crisis and are hopeful with continued support we will reach our £40,000 target by Sunday 5th June.”
In further efforts to support Ukraine, the East of England Co-op is now stocking Chernigivske, or ‘Che’, Ukraine’s most loved beer. All profits from the sale of the lager, are being distributed to various designated Non-Governmental Organisation’s (NGOs), including Caritas International, to support humanitarian relief efforts.
Niall O’Keeffe added: “We are encouraging our customers to keep their eye out for this beer in our stores and elsewhere – every can sold will help to support the people of Ukraine.”
Donations can be made at East of England Co-op stores until the end of the month and ‘Che’ is available to purchase now. For more information about Chernigivske beer visit https://chernigivske.ua/en. For further details on the East of England Co-op’s appeal, see https://www.eastofengland.coop/community/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal.