Celebrating your support for local communities

We’ve been celebrating with Co-op Members and thanking them for the incredible impact they’ve made to thousands of local causes across the UK.

By choosing a local cause to support online or via the Co-op App, Co-op Members have helped 39,000 causes support 9.5m people through the Local Community Fund since 2016.

As part of our celebrations, we brought communities together in some of our Food stores, Funeralcare branches and community spaces. Led by our team of Member Activators, we hosted over 130 local events and engaged with more than 6,500 Co-op Members across the UK.

Ali Lainchbury, Member Activator for Brighton & Hove and Mid-West Sussex, tells us all about the Celebration events she hosted.

Together, we’re making a difference

I held five local celebration events across my area and what an amazing few days we had!

It was great to meet, thank and celebrate with so many members, our local causes and colleagues all in one space.

As well as hearing all about the benefits of Co-op Membership, it was a chance for our members to chat with people from our local causes they’ve been supporting throughout the year to hear all about their projects and how, just by choosing them, members have made a difference to the incredible work that they can do and the impact they are making to people’s lives.

Here are just a few quotes from the local causes that attended my Celebration events:

The funding you and other generous Co-op Members have provided has enabled around 40 people living with dementia and their carers to enjoy a monthly activity, information and support mornings. It can be lonely experiencing memory loss and confusing to know what’s out there. Its life changing to have a space in the heart of our community that supports people and we cannot thank you enough.

The Hangleton & Knoll Project

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We are blown away by your generosity. Because Co-op Members choose us as their cause, we’ve raised enough to create a beautiful Women of Colour outdoor retreat in Summer 2026: a space for healing, joy, rest and connection. Your kindness makes this possible. We are so grateful. You are helping us build something truly magical. From our hearts to yours, thank you.

Women of Colour Brighton Group

Many thanks for supporting us over the last year. This funding has helped us continue over the last year, and enabled us to open a Food Bank at the south end of Woodingdean. We have a reputation as a great community, helping and caring for each other, and you have all reinforced that with your kind support.

Woodingdean Food CIC

We would like to say a huge thank you. Your funding will go towards our support for young people experiencing homelessness and insecure housing in Brighton and Hove. Each year we support between 130-180 young people and through your involvement we have remained a safe and secure space in the heart of the community. Choosing us as your local cause has ensured our support through crises and helped us continue to offer vital services, guidance, and hope to those who need it most.

The Clock Tower Sanctuary

Wild Purpose has greatly valued being a part of the Co-op Local Community Fund. Over the past year, we’ve spent time in local stores sharing the story of our Symbiosis co-mentoring programme and connecting with the wider Co-op community. In the summer, we were delighted to guide members of the Co-op on a mindful beach walk in Brighton, creating space to slow down, connect with nature, and build meaningful relationships. Thanks to this partnership, we’ve also received much-needed funding to support our nature-based work. We truly believe that this collaboration strengthens community engagement – and that together, we can create positive change for everyone involved.

Wild Purpose CIC

The Celebration events were the perfect opportunity for me to showcase our Christmas range too and the taste-testing sessions went down a treat. I was particularly impressed with the mini-Panettone and Christmas Puddings!

A real highlight for me across all of my events was the attendance of the many varied community groups – both old and new – along with representatives from other connections from my network.

From local Fairtrade groups, councils, a Co-operative party, store managers, colleagues from our Food and Funeralcare businesses as well as our charity, the Co-op Foundation, everyone came together to engage, connect, laugh and ultimately celebrate as one.

It was great to see so many chatting, exchanging contact details, making plans, throwing around ideas and talking about how they can work together to create real co-operation within communities – and with Co-op at the heart of it all.

Ali is a great Member Activator. She brings people together and then the magic happens.

Christine, Brighton & Hove Fairtrade Group

There were many discussions about how groups could support other Co-op campaigns like Warm Spaces and Great Big Green Week next year.

With so much positive energy and everyone in celebratory mood, we even managed to recruit some new members too

You joined in at home

Co-op Members who were unable to attend a local Celebration event could join in with our ‘Celebrating your support for your community’ online activity. Almost 12,000 members got involved to learn more about the Local Community Fund, choose a cause and shared a celebration messages on social media encouraging others to do the same.

Helping communities thrive

It’s thanks to your support that local causes can help their communities thrive. Find out more about the difference you can make just by choosing a cause in our blog post.

Find out more about our Member Activators or contact with the Member Activator in your region by using our online directory.