There’s a warm welcome space near you

With so many events and activities planned to bring members and local groups together in 2025, it’s shaping up to be an exciting year for Geraldine Strohm, Co-op Member Activator for Hertfordshire.

Co-op and the Warm Welcome Campaign have joined together to help grow the number of Warm Welcome Spaces and help people stay warm this winter. Co-op is committing to support the Warm Welcome Campaign’s 100% pledge, which will ensure that everyone in the UK can find a Warm Welcome Space within 30 minutes’ walk of wherever they live. This means free access to much needed welcoming community spaces that bring connection, friendship, and support as well as warmth. Find out more about Warm Welcome Spaces here: Spaces | Warm Welcome 

Gerry is connecting with those in her local community to highlight the importance of warm spaces and where members can find warmth and meet with others near them. 

Here she explains all about her role, the campaign and how you can get involved. 

I love my role as a Member Activator because I get to meet directly with members, colleagues, and community groups  across Hertfordshire to talk to them about all aspects of Co-op Membership – including our member prices, ethical commitments, and ownership benefits of having a say in how and what we do.

I spend much of my time in Food stores, Funeralcare homes and engaging with engaging with member-owners in groups in the local community to hear what’s important to them while also collaborating and connecting them together for mutual support.

I see this as the best way for me to really bring to life Co-op’s vision of co-operating to build more value for our members every day.

Engaging with members

My field-based role is about creating opportunities for our members to engage and participate in Co-op led activations and campaigns such a Warm Welcome Spaces Week locally.

Over the past few months, I’ve hosted Fairtrade events, ran chatty chair sessions during Mental Health Awareness Week and held celebrations for our local causes – all bringing members, colleagues, and other community partners closer together.

Back in November at our celebration events, I gathered feedback on what is important to our members and how they would like to be rewarded for their involvement, helping to shape what Co-op concentrates on in the future and connected members with others with similar aims and values.

I’ve also set-up a group called the Hertfordshire Co-operative Action Network (Herts-CAN). Meeting bi-monthly in person and regularly online, the forum concentrates on bringing members together with like-minded groups and organisations to tackle local and national issues.

Supporting colleagues in donating food or money to local groups working with residents in need has been particularly rewarding. I recently reached out to Home-Start Herts to help them provide food, entertainment and Christmas party gifts for children who would not otherwise have been able to celebrate. Families were incredibly grateful – most not realising how supportive Co-op is to local communities and how being a member saves them money.

Members have said they have benefitted from the work I’ve been doing in their community. They’ve found the events helpful, informative and a powerful way to connect and engage with others in their local area.

Supporting warm spaces

I hear all the time from our members that warm spaces are needed – not just because of the cost-of-living crisis or food poverty – but also to help tackle social isolation.

So, when I heard Co-op was partnering with Warm Welcome Week, I was excited to support this initiative – spreading the word with my network, on social media, suggesting groups publicise their activities on our instore community noticeboards and encouraging groups to sign-up to have their space listed on the national directory.

During Warm Welcome Week, I will be attending my local warm space at St Hugh and St John’s Church in Stevenage with donations of Co-op refreshments and talking to organisers and attendees about how they can save money through membership.

I will also be hosting my next Herts-CAN meeting, so that attendees can meet with other local organisations who will be able to hear what they need first-hand and offer their support.

What’s next?

Next month, I’ll be helping my local community get those all-important mental health conversations started by hosting a Time to Talk Day event on 6 February. I’ll also be connecting colleagues together with local groups like Power to Inspire and London Titans Wheelchair Basketball teams to support our Barnardo’s fundraiser.

Get in touch

I’d be happy for local members and causes to contact me for further details about warm spaces in Hertfordshire. I’d also be keen to hear from anyone who would like to join Herts-CAN or to let me know what is important to you in your area to see how Co-op can help to support. You can email me at geraldine.strohm@coop.co.uk.

This week, it’s Warm Welcome Week (20 – 26 January) and Gerry is connecting with those in her local community to highlight the importance of warm spaces and where members can find warmth and meet with others near them.

If you want to find out where your local space is, or volunteer, click here; Find a Space (warmwelcome.uk)