GOOD causes throughout the Cowden-Gelly area have been celebrating a timely funding boost thanks to the generosity of the Co-op and its members.

Thanks to its Local Community Fund, 66 community organisations across Fife, Clackmannanshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee have shared donations totalling £31,300.

The money, which has been raised by members and through the sale of carrier bags, has enabled the Co-op to continue its support of those who do amazing things in their area, many of whom are adapting their work to help others during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Of those receiving a cash grant, a third are based in, or carry out work, across Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Benarty.

Beneficiaries include Cowdenbeath Civic Week Committee; Lochgelly Brass Band; the 4th Fife Cardenden Scout Group; Families Affected By Autism; West Fife Show; 77th Fife (Kelty Church) Scout Group; Friends of Gordon Cottage, a centre based in Kelty that offers support, provided by NHS Fife, for pre-school children with additional support needs; and Blood Bikes Scotland - Fife.

The 4th Fife scouts are currently in the middle of trying to replace their scout hall which was damaged by fire early in 2019. They have been working hard at raising funds and making progress.

As well as through the purchase of carrier bags by shoppers, Co-op members – who also receive a five per cent reward – contribute one per cent each time they purchase own-brand goods and services and, since the scheme began in 2016, more than 21,000 good causes across the UK have received more than £60 million.

Rebecca Birkbeck, director of community and shared value at the Co-op, said: "The local community fund is now a well-established way of supporting local causes who help to make communities safer, happier, and healthier places to live.

"All the local community causes we’re connected to are at the centre of helping their communities. We’ve increased the payout to give the causes a vital cash injection to help them continue the essential work they do in the community at this time of crisis and difficulty for so many people."

The Co-op is also urging its members to help alleviate the impact of the present lock down by donating their personal unspent existing five percent reward to a new Co-op Members Fund set up to support foodbanks, funeral hardship and local community causes.

The Co-op Members’ Coronavirus Fund has been established so that the Co-op’s 4.6 million members across the UK can donate their unspent rewards, that total over £30m, into these vital areas.

The Co-op will continue to support these causes, with another six months of funding through the Local Community Fund.

Co-op members can choose to support a particular cause by logging in at www.coop.co.uk/local-causes.