Today’s been a busy day in the office. Not only have we been celebrating Radio Cardiff being named the Best Radio Station in Wales and the South West, but we’ve also began our six month stint as one of the Co-op’s chosen community charities.

Our work means collaborating with some of the most disatvantaged people in our communities. This is sometimes a hard-sell to funders as we’re often working with the people on the fringes of society. But we belive in giving everybody a chance, so it’s worth it.

In 2017 we went it alone, going back to our roots as a social action charity with a greater focus on people. We handed over the Volunteer Centre to C3SC and refocused our efforts on three core strands of work; heritage, media and supported volunteering. This transition has meant us needing to find new ways of raising funds. We no longer recieve funding directly from government and now wholly rely on grants and donations. Asking for money is never easy, harder still in today’s tough times, but we belive in what we’re doing, and see the effects of our work on a daily basis.

In our 50 year history we’ve been through quite a bit. We’ve gained and lost staff and faced closure sevral times, yet we are still here, and today are stronger than ever.

The Co-op Local Community Fund is one way we are raising funds for the work that we do. Members who’ve signed up can donate 1% of their shop to us without it costing them a shiny new £1! Even a propotion of the 5p spent on carrier bags goes into the pot. It’s really easy to sign up to the scheme, it will cost you a £1 but for that you get 5% back on all co-op branded products (including funerals)!

To become a meber click here.

You’ll need to choose us as your charity, but you can do that later. There are some great charities on there already, so if you wanted to you could spread your generosity acorss them all!

I’m going to be addicted to the website over the next six months, hopefully seeing our total rising, thinking about all the ways we can use that money to help people locally.

If you’d like to get involved in fundraising for VCS Cymru, or have any new ideas for us then get in touch. We’re always looking for new ways of raising funds for our work!

Thanks for reading.

Mike – Development Manager