30 Years Co-operative and Social Enterprise Development Agency - CASE Newsletter Issue 11 Celebrating Welcome to the latest edition of the CASE newsletter. Read about our trip to Co-operatives United world festival in Manchester and discover some great shopping tips for a co-operative Christmas. Inside CASE at Coops 2012 Gift ideas for a co-operative Christmas On Wednesday 1 November, case staff and members of local co-operatives travelled to Manchester with Midlands Co-operative Society to attend the Co-operatives United world festival and ICA expo. Soft Touch showcase at Westminster During the week Monday 27 October to Friday 2 November, co-operators from all around the world gathered at this global event organized by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), in partnership with The Co-operative Group and Cooperatives UK, to host the ICA General Assembly. Smarter Travel in Leicester with Go Travel Former CASE advisory board member honoured as alderman of Leicester City stories. We heard inspirational stories such as how The Handmade Bakery, an artisan bakery in West Yorkshire, borrowed money from the local community to buy premises and how investors could opt to have interest repaid in loaves of bread. Nade Townsend and Jane Avery also participated in Co-operative Congress on Thursday 1st November thanks to the generosity of Midlands Co-operative Society. The event featured presentations and discussion around 'Growing the co-operative economy’. At the International Co-operative Alliance's General Assembly, the organisation's President, Dame Pauline Green, shared some of her fondest memories of this year: "This The event featured a Co-operative Living UN International Year of Co-operatives has expo, an entire village built inside the been a fabulous year. As I visited the exhibition centre for the occasion, with movement across the world, I couldn’t help cooperative shops, a farm, a pub, restaurants being struck by the impact. The impact of the and a garden, all of which represent a world logo and slogan, Co-operatives Build a Better built by cooperatives. Delegates also had the World, It adds to our values, it adds publicly opportunity to participate in a number of to who we are. Never before in its history has conference and workshops. the co-operative movement globally come together around a single logo and slogan, we We enjoyed the opportunity to network with have never been as cohesive as we are now.” fellow co-operators and share our With less than 4 weeks till Christmas, we’ve visited our directory to find ideas for a co-operative Christmas Just...Fairtrade Just, the Fair Trade shop in St Martins Square, is a great place to pick up a special gift. The shop offers a varied range of items, from clothing to cookware, through to decorations, gift ideas and toiletries. Stocking the widest and latest range of fair trade products in Leicester, you will be sure to find something cool and quirky, from greetings cards and handmade paper to jewellery. The Just shop also stocks a wide range of crafts and gifts including toys, puzzles, pottery, silver plate bowls and picture frames. And their ethical clothing lines of dresses, tee-shirts and many other items are selling fast! Personal favourites are the beautifully soft socks made from bamboo fibre and available in a wide range of colours. Just...Fairtrade St Martins Square 36 Silver Street Leicester LE1 5ET Tel: 0116 253 8032 www.justfairtrade.com Leicester Wholefoods Co-operative Let Leicester Wholefoods, the premier organic food store in the East Midlands, take some of the stress away from the festive period. Leicester Wholefoods is the perfect place to buy local produce and organic food and drinks as well as a range of Christmas gifts. Spending your hard-earned cash on food produced locally is also a great way of cutting down on pollution - food that hasn't had to travel far, means less fuel and fewer fumes. Visit www.wholefoodcoop.co.uk to start your shopping today to get your goods delivered to your door. Don’t forget to check out Leicester Wholefoods’ Facebook page where you’ll find tips and recipes on how to make Christmas extra special. Go to www.facebook.com/LeicesterWholefoods Leicester Wholefoods Co-op Unit 3 Freehold St, Leicester LE1 2LX Tel: 0116 251 2525 Indived Ayurvedic and Holistic Therapy Centre. Do you want to treat someone special to a unique Christmas present? Why not book them into the Indived Therapy Centre for treatments such as Indian head massage, Hopi Ear Candle treatment, Reflexology, an Ayurvedic lifestyle changing consultation or an aromatherapy session? Indived offers a wide range of Ayurvedic and Holistic Therapies to suit your needs and all products and treatments are tailored to suit your individual requirements. Contact Dr Sonal Bhavsar at Indived for more information Call: 07769358179 e-mail: [email protected] Visit www.indived.com Complete Wasters Co-operative Are you looking for a green gift this Christmas? Why not take a visit to Complete Wasters’ gift shop? Complete Wasters, a Sileby-based recycling co-operative, sell a range of individual and funky hand-made items produced from household recyclables. You’ll be amazed at how tin cans, drink cartons and old 78 records can be transformed into beautiful and desirable objects. Visit: www.completewasters.co.uk Complete Wasters The Green Place 6 Cossington Road Sileby, Leicestershire LE12 7RS Tel: 01509 815181 Midlands Co-operative Stores There are Christmas offers at co-op food and department stores on everything from party food and champagne, to Christmas table linen, children's toys, perfume and fragrances. Whether you're buying for yourself or for someone special, you can find the perfect gift at your local Midlands Co-operative Store. Visit www.midlands.coop/christmas/offers for Christmas gift ideas from the co-operative. Don’t forget to look out for the Red mix and Match stickers on 100’s of great gift ideas. Congratulations to Roy Stuttard on receiving the honour of Alderman of Leicester City Many of you will know Roy Stuttard who was, for many years, a stalwart of the Co-operative Development Agency (as we were known then) advisory board. Roy is a committed co-operator and was councillor for Humberstone in Leicester between 1983 to 1998. We are delighted to report that Roy Stuttard was recently made an honorary alderman of the city in recognition of his sterling work in Leicester over the years. We send our congratulations to Roy and his wife Pat who is also keenly involved in the co-operative movement. Soft Touch showcase at Westminster Liz Kendall is a strong supporter of Soft Touch’s creative engagement work with young people in the west of the On Tuesday 23rd October 2012 the Soft Touch Beatsmobile, a specially adapted car, blazed a trail to Old City. The aim of the event was to engage key stakeholders Palace Yard in Westminster. This special event, organised and to influence the Labour Party policy making process on by Liz Kendall MP at the Houses of Parliament, was set up the importance of youth services and youth participation. MPs Alex Cunningham, Jon Ashworth, Lisa Nandy, Karen to showcase the best aspects of Leicester’s youth work. Soft Touch arts co-operative took a group of young people Buck, Stephen Twigg and Graham Stuart attended the from New Parks who worked alongside Streetvibe and the event and chatted with young people and Soft Touch Youth Service Young Advisors to show MPs the benefits of directors about their work. Hugh James also attended from the Arts Council, which provides funding to Soft Touch doing high-quality street-based creative activities. through the National Portfolio Scheme. Smarter Travel in Leicester Do you want to know how you can make commuting and business travel cheaper and more efficient? The Business Travel Package, part of Leicester Fit 4 Business, will help you explore options for cheaper, easier commuting and explain how you can lower your business travel costs and improve your business efficiency, perhaps leading to improved staff recruitment and retention. Smarter Travel Leicester has been developed by Go Travel Solutions, a specialist transport consultancy co-operative specialising in the delivery of sustainable transport solutions, serving public bodies, businesses and transport operators. For more information contact: Robin Pointon - Managing Director Go Travel Solutions Business Box For organisations with fewer than 250 staff within the 3 Oswin Road designated travel to work areas, you will also receive free business support, one year’s free membership Brailsford Industrial Estate Leicester of Smarter Travel Leicester and be eligible to apply for LE3 1HR grants of up to £5,000 to assist you to develop and implement effective travel reduction strategies. Tel: 07887 950 633 or 0116 279 5122 Email: [email protected] Visit www.leicester.gov.uk/fit4business to find out dates of the next taster workshop and criteria for the programme. If you would like further information on any of the stories and articles featured in this edition of the newsletter please contact Dimple Mistry at: [email protected] CASE 1 The Crescent King Street Leicester LE1 6RX Phone: 0116 222 5010 Fax: 0116 222 5495 Email: [email protected] Follow us on Twitter @CaSE_da Promoting Co-operative Enterprise