Pete Vallance

Organisation Type: Community Organisation

Website: The Co-operative Membership SW

About Me: Membership sits at the heart of The Co-operative Group – it’s what makes us very different from other businesses and it’s what 5 million of you are proud to be a part of. As a member, every time you buy something from The Co-operative’s family of businesses, you earn points. Twice a year the points are then added up and you receive your share of the profits as cash. And that’s not all, you’ll also get loads of exclusive offers too! Membership also means being involved in The Co-operative Membership Community Fund. This fund helps all sorts of projects in local communities. You can help the fund by donating your share of the profits – that’s what many people do. You can play a more hands-on role in helping your community too if you like. There are local events run by members you can get involved with, alternatively you can organise your own group or event. Because we’re owned by our members, we give you the chance to have a say in how the business is run. You can help shape the way we do business, the policies we create and how we help local communities. We’ve member representatives across all regions who speak on the behalf of local people. You can even stand for election yourself. We also run global campaigns tackling important issues, like human rights and climate change. And it’s easy for you to play a part. For instance, you could come along to one of our movie premiers. We organise these exclusively for members to highlight the plight of an issue we’re working on. You can also add your voice to a campaign by signing up to support it or joining an online discussion.