Local children (aged 4-11) invited to design limited-edition shopper bags with £10,000 from the profits to be donated to the retailer’s Community Cares Fund
East of England Co-op is inviting children aged 4-11 across the East of England to showcase their creativity and community spirit by designing a limited-edition shopper bag to raise funds for local causes.
The competition, launching today (Monday 5 October) in East of England Co-op stores across the East of England, asks young artists to create designs to show what it means to be a community superhero or what their community superhero would do.
Liz Cobbold, chief customer, community and member officer at East of England Co-op, said: “Our local young people came up with such imaginative, heartwarming designs last year, and it was fantastic to see how much the bags meant to our members and customers. The bags were so popular that in some stores local to the winners they sold out within weeks. This year we’re asking children to imagine what a community superhero looks like, and I can’t wait to see the ideas that come in. Every bag sold helps us support local causes through our Community Cares Fund, so it’s a brilliant way for children to make a real difference where they live.”
The competition will ask local children of primary school age to imagine a hero whose special powers make their community a kinder, happier, or better place. They can then create their design thinking about who their superhero helps (families, older neighbours, animals, or the planet), what their superpower is (spreading joy, protecting nature, growing food, or helping others feel brave and included) and what they look like (full costume and cape, or just an ordinary everyday person). Whatever their superhero looks like, the entries will help to champion the causes that matter most to local people.
East of England Co-op supports more than 1200 unique local causes through its four community programmes. The profits from this competition will go to East of England Co-op’s Community Cares Fund which has donated more than £1.2 million to local causes since it launched in 2020.
This is the second time East of England Co-op has invited local children to design their limited-edition shopper bag. Last summer six children won the retailer’s first competition of this kind, designing a shopper bag celebrating the theme of kindness and caring for others. The bags, which launched in all East of England Co-op Food stores in April this year raised £10,000 for local communities through the retailer’s Community Cares Fund, a target which the retailer hopes to match this year.
From Monday 5 October, children can collect design templates from their local East of England Co-op and take them home to design. All designs will need to be returned to the same store they were collected from by the competition deadline on Sunday 25 October.
Each store manager will select a local winner, who will receive a small prize. The store winners will then be judged by a central panel who will choose four overall winners whose designs will be featured on East of England Co-op shopper bags next year.
