Winter Bike Sessions supporting our members and community

Our most recent Bike Maintenance event took place outside our Cotteridge Store with Cath and Fabio from Dr Bike, and our very own MCC member Laurence on hand to talk to members and customers about Central Co-op member and community activity. The free event is funded by Central Co-op Western Member and Community Council as a way of giving back with educational and recreational activity.

Cath Palgrave said: We checked and made minor repairs on 14 bikes and the event was so popular. The majority of bikes we looked at had been left in garages and sheds and people wanted to make sure they were safe so they could start riding them again. The event was well supported by the Co-op staff, members and the general public. It was a n excellent way of highlighting the community work Central Co-op does. Although most people we spoke to were members - they weren't always aware of the community work that is funded.  Likewise, people who weren't members were interested to hear about the community initiatives that Central Co-op are behind. 

MCC member Laurence said: Saturday’s bike maintenance event was a reminder about why it is so important to directly engage and benefit our members outside of our stores. Although the weather was cold, wet and miserable, we had a great turn-out and a really positive response. The promotion we’d done online through a community Facebook group, local WhatsApp groups and scout groups worked. In fact, it worked too well – we have a list of people who want to bring their bikes to a future event. The Cotteridge store staff were also very supportive during the day and welcomed our presence – giving the store a buzz and higher profile – particularly with passing traffic and buses (we were sited close to a busy bus stop). I made the point to people that our activity was funded by them, that 1% of profits generated by the business were ploughed back into activities that benefit members and their communities. No other major retailer does we do, and we should be proud of that. We care about the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve, and our bike maintenance activity clearly demonstrates our commitment to our cooperative values and principles.

We are looking forward to many more of these events that help support members and our community