(Left to right) Ian Urwin, Committee Member of the south Warwickshire group of Diabetes UK; Rupin Mahajan, Trainee Deputy Manager of The Co-operative at Woodloes; Clive Miles, President of the Heart of England Co-operative Society; Janet Turner, Chairman of the south Warwickshire group of Diabetes UK, and Elizabeth Urwin, committee member of the group.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
The south Warwickshire group of Diabetes UK has been presented with £3,000 from the Heart of England Co-operative Society.
The money will go toward the continued awareness, advice and support to people living in the area with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Established more than 30 years ago the group meets at Warwick Hospital once a month.
Guest speakers often include medical professionals who give talks on many aspects of living with diabetes as well as information on the latest research.
The group meetings, which are free and open to everyone, are also a platform for people living with diabetes to exchange ideas and information on managing their condition in their day to day lives.
The group also raises funds to send young diabetics and their parents on family support weekends where they can learn more about diabetes and link up with other families for friendship and support.
The weekends include fun and games for the children and discussion groups for the parents.
Earlier this year the south Warwickshire group also organised a free information day with guest speakers – including consultants and paediatricians.
And a few years ago the charity published diabetes information booklets which were sent to every school in south Warwickshire.
Janet Turner, Chairman of the Diabetes UK south Warwickshire group, said it was yet to be decided how exactly the funds from the Society would be used.
She said: “There are more and more children being diagnosed with diabetes, now more than ever – children as young as four or five. So the work we do is crucial and any financial help we receive from organisations such as the Heart of England Co-operative Society, we are very grateful for.
“We would like to thank customers who took the time to vote for us over the past few months.”
With the second highest number of votes, Kids Run Free received £2,000, while Leamington Night Shelter received £1,000.
The government introduced its levy towards the end of 2015.
It followed statistics from 2014 which showed that major supermarkets in England had handed out more than 7.5 billion single use carrier bags to customers – equating to 61,000 tonnes or 140 bags per person.
Research by the government at the time showed the average household contained some 40 plastic bags around the home and the number of carrier bags taken from supermarkets increased year on year in the five years to 2014.
As well as the environmental benefits the government believes the levy will benefit the economy by up to £780 million in its first 10 years – with up to £730 million raised in aid of good causes, £60 million in clean-up costs and carbon savings of £13 million.
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