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As Karen mentioned our Area Committees in the Northern Ireland Members Council have
responsibility for member and community activity within their area as well as monitoring our
commercial activities. Our members want to feel that they are part of something good
through which they are able to make a real difference both for themselves and for others.
Your role would be to ensure that your Area has a range of events, activities and initiatives
which help members become more involved with and benefit from their unique Co-operative
business. You'll work with other Committee members and the Regional Membership Team to
plan, organise and evaluate an interesting programme of member and community activity
designed to engage members. For example, you could be organising events to encourage members
to understand healthy living or environmental messages such as our Watch Your Waste events.
Area Committees decide where they would like these events to be held to give maximum impact
in their communities. You might also help to encourage members to make a difference
locally and nationally. Our Plan Bee Campaign saw over 3,500 members attending screenings
of a new film about the declining bee population. These screenings were organised by our Area
Committees and Membership Teams and included discussions with local beekeepers and conservationists
and a call to action for our members to make changes in their own gardens. Incidentally,
the whole Campaign was an idea brought forward by Committee members when they identified
that the decline of the honey bee was something that our wider membership felt passionately
about. You might also decide on plans for other membership activity such as our Membership
Training and Support for new members; conferences; seminars and consumer events. It would be
your experience of what members want and your ideas that will be invaluable for us to ensure
that the members you represent receive the events and initiatives that are interesting
for them. Your knowledge of the local community will be invaluable as you help to direct some
of our community activity. Our incredibly generous members donate their odd pennies
or a percentage of their share of the profits to our Community Fund. Your role would be
to ensure that every penny of this fund is spent in the correct way by using your knowledge
of your area you'll help us target the most worthy causes and groups in your community.
Community projects, luncheon clubs, environmental initiatives and youth groups are just some
of the kinds of projects our Committees have supported in the past. The Co-operative Group
is regularly applauded for our ethical and community stance and our Committee members
are key to ensuring we continue to be at the forefront of such activity. We haven't even
begun to scratch the surface of the exciting and interesting projects you may be involved
with. Our multi-million pound project Green Energy for Schools which saw local schools
receive solar panels; The Truth About Youth, a programme of activity targeting support
to youth organisations across the UK and Farm to Fork, our work to get primary school children
to find out more about where their food comes from have all been supported by our Area Committee
members. I'm sure you can see there is an incredible breadth of activity for Committee
member to support, influence and develop. I also hope it shows the important role our
Area Committee members play in helping us to deliver a broad range of activity to the
many diverse communities across the UK.