Co-op looks out for the siblings

The Co-op Local Community Fund has chosen Diverse Abilities’ STARs service as one of the beneficiaries in six Co-op Stores and Funeral homes in Poole.

STARs is the charity’s support and advice service for siblings of children with special education needs. It’s a 12-week programme for children aged eight to 16, meeting on Thursday evenings between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. The charity aims to reduce pressure the siblings are under by providing an environment where they can access support and advice, but also take part in fun activities, make friends, and be themselves.

Clare Rochford, manager of STARs, commented: “It’s tough being an SEN sibling, as well as the usual challenges of growing up, they also often receive less attention from parents and have more worries and responsibilities than their peers.

“It’s important to provide an opportunity that enables young people to realise they are not alone, hopefully giving them a support network which will last far longer than however long they wish to attend our sessions, as being a sibling never ends.”

From Sunday, October 24, 2021, through to Saturday, October 22, 2022, 2p in every £1 spent by Co-op members is deposited into an account that is split equally between the Local Community Fund and the Community Partnerships Fund. More than £84 million has been raised for over 25,000 causes since 2016.    

Emma Bovey, fundraising officer at Diverse Abilities, added: “We want to say a huge thank you to everyone across all the Co-op teams for their support of our STARs sibling service. Everyone get on down to the Co-op, become a member, and help worth causes on your doorstep.”

Co-op members can visit https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/59371 to select Diverse Abilities as their chosen cause and generate fundraising for the service no matter which branch they shop in.

The Poole branches supporting STARs are Poole Ashley Road, Parkstone, Good Road, Petrol Lilliput, Ashley Cross, and the Funeralcare branch in Parkstone.