Co-op Helping Hands Fund offers boost to 30 CI charities

Friday 18 May 2018

The Channel Islands Co-operative Society has donated more than £18,000 to good causes including more than 30 charities, youth groups and adult support centres across the Channel Islands.

The organisations have been chosen to receive a share of the Helping Hands fund, which was set up in 1995 to provide financial support to good causes in the Channel Islands.

Since its launch 23 years ago, the fund has provided approximately £270,000 to help groups in Guernsey and Jersey.

"With over 140 applicants for this year’s fund, it has been a difficult task to choose the successful applicants. We carefully consider each and every application and try to ensure that the money is given to a diverse mix of our community, thus enabling us as a community retailer to deliver on our vision of making a real difference to the communities we serve," said Tanya Dorrity, the Society’s Community Officer.

Among this year’s recipients are The Youth Commission and Ernie’s Angels, which received £500 to go towards a grant for funeral costs for terminally ill children.

"The funding from the Co-op will ensure we can provide young people with ‘Decider Skills’ books, which are a series of exercises designed to educate adults and children to understand and manage their mental health. The Youth Commission staff invest a lot of time teaching these skills and, with the additional resource of course books, young people will be able to continue their learning at home," said Charlie Cox, service manager at the Youth Commission.

Pictured: File image of a previous Helping Hands donation