Two projects in Burton and North West Leicestershire are celebrating after sharing £2,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative's Community Dividend Fund.

A wide range of groups, organisations and charities were handed grants, with a total of £57,000 handed out to 36 good causes across 16 counties.

Among them were Winshill Neighbourhood Resource Centre, in Canterbury Road, has been handed £1,000 to pay for a variety of items to help support a scheme aimed at providing young people with healthy meals.

Measham Welfare Football Club has been boosted with a £1,000 grant to pay for vital supplies.

In 2017, a total of 122 groups and organisations shared £209,000 to spend on a wide variety of projects.

Central England Co-operative's Community Dividend Fund has helped two more projects

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the society's trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area of 16 counties from the Midlands to the east coast.

Martyn Cheatle, chief executive of Central England Co-operative, said: "The Community Dividend Fund reflects a key principle of our society, in that we reward the loyalty of our customers by investing in and supporting local communities.

"I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the Community Dividend Fund scheme."

People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop