RUGBY CHARITIES BENEFIT FROM THE LATEST HELPING HEARTS DONATIONS

Charities and community groups in Rugby are among the latest to share a cash windfall of more than £7,000 in the latest round of pledges from the Heart of England Co-operative Society’s unique Helping Hearts scheme.

The scheme, launched nine years ago, pledges every penny of the Society’s tobacco profits to worthy causes across the trading area in Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

Earlier in the summer Helping Hearts celebrated a landmark total of £500,000 pledged to groups since its launch.

Among the charities to benefit in the latest round were Relate Rugby and North East Warwickshire, Rugby Community Choir, Rugby Foster Care Association and the 7th Rugby Scout Group.

Rugby Riding for the Disabled, Crick Village Hall and organisers of the Annual Live Band Extravaganza also benefited from the scheme.

Relate will use its £100 towards counselling for children and young people.

Rugby Community Choir is a new group which formed in September this year. Members will use their £100 towards fees for the choir’s musical director.

Rugby Foster Care Association will use its £150 towards goods for a Christmas party for children and families.

The 7th Rugby Scout Group will use its £500 towards roof repairs and Rugby Riding for the Disabled will spend its £500 on the hire of horses for disabled children.

The £200 received by Crick Village Hall will be used towards repairs. Organisers of the Annual Live Band Extravaganza received a £50 raffle prize which will be used to help raise funds.

Jo Dyke, Community and Membership Adviser at the Heart of England Co-operative Society, said: “Once again the groups benefiting from the latest round of pledges from Helping Hearts are wide and varied and each strive to make life better for different groups of people within our community.

“This is excellent news as it means every penny of our tobacco profits is reaching thousands of people across our trading area and the most deserving people within the area are benefiting.

“As a community retailer it is only right we share our profits with these organisations so they can continue in the excellent work they do, helping to benefit some of the most vulnerable people in the Coventry, Warwickshire and south Leicestershire areas.”