Crest s high street expansion

Transcription

1 N E W S L E T T E R I S S U E 4 M A R C H J U N E 2012 Crest s high street expansion I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : High Street 1 expansion Community 1 Fund Textiles 2 SHOPPERS descended upon Colwyn Bay for the grand opening of Crest Community Store. The launch of Crest Co-operative s new 21 Station Road, high street shop, took place in March. Crest s Co-operative s out of town outlet has been established for more than five years. The popular Llandudno Junction based store has built up an excellent reputation for offering affordable goods for family home and garden. The continued success of the store, has allowed Crest to offer its services to the Colwyn Bay community. Crest Community Store offers reasonably priced, modern sofas, nearly new children s and adults clothing from as little as 1. All funds generated by Crest s two non-profit community stores, create work placements for the long-term unemployed and adults with learning disabilities in Conwy and Denbighshire. Housing sector 3 Injecting 10, 000 back into the Conwy community Housing sector 4 Leading Wales 4 FareShare 5 Back to work 6 CREST Co-operative s team of staff are proud to announce the launch of Crest Community Fund. In 2012/2013 the social enterprise has set aside 10, 000, to award grants of up to 500 to Conwy based community groups. Sharon Jones, Crest Co-operative s Chief Executive, said: Crest has been working to benefit the Conwy community for the past 14 years. Providing work opportunities and promoting social inclusion. A successful year at Crest has allowed us to offer-

2 P A G E 2 a funding pot to groups with a focus on community based action. They may be struggling to fund a community project or are This is the first year of the fund. With public support for our recycling enterprises, we hope to continue to offer the fund in the years to come. finding it difficult to purchase new equipment. A successful year at Crest has allowed us to offer a funding pot to groups with a focus on Crest s purple bank appeal community based action, Sharon Jones, Chief Executive, Crest Co-operative Pupils at Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn with Leanne Forbes, school teacher and Rod Williams, Crest s Operations Manager TONNES of unwanted textiles have been collected by schools and communities across Conwy. Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn in Llandudno and Ysgol Eglwysbach were named top textile recyclers. In just one year the eco champions have collected more than 3 tonnes of textiles. Crest Co-operative has donated more than 4, 000 to Conwy schools in the last 12 months. Leanne Forbes, School Teacher at Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn said: Crest donates money to us for every tonne of textiles collected, it s a great way to raise money and we have even opened an eco bank account. We have used the funds to buy shrubs, planters and paint for the school grounds. We will even be growing our own vegetables soon. Crest s textile recycling scheme is now our main fundraiser. We have had great support from the children s parents.

3 N E W S L E T T E R I S S U E 4 P A G E 3 Sports clubs join Crest s textile appeal LLANDUDNO Cricket Club and Llandudno Football Club are the latest recruits to Crest s Purple Bank Appeal. The clubs have been busy collecting unwanted textiles. Crest will turn the textiles into jobs for local people. For every tonne of textiles collected, Crest Co-operative will donate 300 to the clubs. For every tonne of textiles collected, Crest Co-operative will donate 300 to the clubs. Award winning partnership THE UNEMPLOYED will continue to benefit from a pioneering recycling partnership. In May Crest Co-operative signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with housing association Cartrefi Conwy. The aim of the new agreement is to help unemployed people to gain work experience and to promote social inclusion. The agreement aims to increase skills and help economically inactive people to find work. landfill, have been reclaimed and recycled. The Initiative attracted interest from across the UK after it was honoured at the Wales Recycling Awards and the UK Sustainable Housing Awards in With the housing improvement programme nearing completion, the new joint venture will see Crest once again applying best practice in their approach to waste recycling. The partnership was formed as a result of Cartrefi Conwy s 30 million housing improvement programme and the two organisations desire to eliminate waste. Over the last two years the team from Crest Co-operative have ensured that nearly 4,000 kitchens and bathrooms, which would have been destined for-

4 P A G E 4 Welsh Minister for Environment praises housing scheme CREST S work in the housing sector was recognised in the Wales Green List. The project has already created job placements for unemployed people across Conwy and Denbighshire. The ground breaking partnership, in association with Clwyd Alyn Housing, was praised during a ceremony in Cardiff. The scheme involves clearing, painting and decorating unoccupied buildings and working to avoid landfill. John Griffiths, Minister for the Environment, recognised the simplicity of the project and hoped Crest s success would encourage other Welsh housing associations to support the scheme. Crest Co-operative s Chief Executive wins Leading Wales Women in Leadership Award 2012 CREST S Chief Executive Sharon Jones was honoured in May for her inspirational work. Sharon established Crest in 1998 and has developed a successful, sustainable social enterprise.

5 N E W S L E T T E R I S S U E 4 P A G E 5 FIGHTING HUNGER, TACKLING FOOD POVERTY SHOPPERS, local businesses and schools have joined the fight to tackle food poverty. Community food network FareShare North Wales has been holding food drives across the Conwy county in a bid to fight hunger. Food donations can be made at Crest s two community stores in Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction. Llandudno Lions and TRB in St Asaph collected five crates of food last month. This month Ysgol Maelgwn, Llandudno Junction, will be collecting tinned food. The food is distributed to community groups for the homeless and vulnerable in Conwy and Denbighshire. Thanks to Bangor University BANGOR University students raised more than 800 to help with the running costs of food poverty project. During a visit to Crest in March Mr Griffiths, Welsh Minister for the Environment, said: Organisations like FareShare and Crest play an important role in the community and I encourage food producers and retailers to consider the potential benefits of engaging with them.

6 P A G E 6 Getting over 50s back into work Malcolm Yates with Nigel Rowlands and Crest Training Co-ordinator Simon Plumpton. DESPITE a challenging economic climate Crest Co-operative has secured permanent jobs for more than half of its service users. A back to work scheme for adults over the age of 50 has helped 35 long-term unemployed people to gain skills and training. The Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) scheme was established in Long-term unemployed Conwy and Denbighshire residents have taken part in work placements and 54% have secured jobs in the local community. Malcolm Yates, joined Crest Co-operative s scheme in 2011, after a eight month period of unemployment. He was recruited by Crest as Assistant Manager of the new Station Road community store earlier this year. He said: Crest can provide avenues of opportunity for anyone who is willing to apply themselves. The training system is excellent and the staff are very helpfully. My period as an ILM has opened up other doors for me. I wasn t thinking about a retail position, but an application I made resulted in an interview, which was a success. Crest Co-operative Ltd, Brierley House, Ferry Farm Road, Llandudno Junction