Three groups in Birmingham are celebrating after sharing £4,200 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.

St Edburgha’s Church Yardley, Rubery Football Club, and Fox Hollies Community Association all received a share of the money, with a total of £55,000 handed out to 35 good causes across 16 counties.

The Fox Hollies Community Association provides community activities, pre-school play schemes and clubs for older people and children with disabilities in Acocks Green.

The group has been handed £2,000 towards an outdoor canopy to allow people to use space outside in bad weather.

Rubery Football Club has also been handed £2,000 to pay for a selection of new football kits.

Tina Bennett, from Rubery FC, spoke of why they applied for a grant from the Community Dividend Fund.

She said: “I would like to thank Central England Co-operative for the very generous sponsorship of our teams for the coming season. It has really sent a buzz through our teams and everyone connected with our club.

“The grant will be used to supply football equipment for our youth teams as well as our ever expanding soccer school.”

St Edburgha’s Church Yardley is a meeting place that provides refreshments and somewhere to chat for people of all ages.

The group has been given £200 to help promote the group with posters and leaflets.

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the Society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area of 16 counties from the Midlands to the east coast.

Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the Community Dividend scheme.”

People can apply for funding by visitinghttps://communities.centralengland.coop/or heading in store to pick up an application form.

Potential applicants have to have been a Central England Co-operative member for six months, the project should be in the trading area of a Central England Co-operative store and all applications will need a referee.