William Green

Occupation: IT Consultant

Co-operative Businesses traded with in last 12 months Food

Skills and experience

The Co-op represents, an ethical, and responsible sourcing outlet of sustainable products. Encompassing excellence in staff, and community support. Such amazing principles that are often ignored by other supermarkets. I’m very keen to champion the good causes for the UK homeless, having been homeless and rough sleeping myself. And to sum up, I love Co-op food, principles, and service. Rock on Beetroot Rice and Chicken Curry!

Additional information

Co-op; Community, Compassion, Kindness.

Community. I asked my nine year old “What do you like best about Co-op?” His answer was the “people who work there”, (he also said he like the 99p sweets too :-)

From my little boys answer to my question, it is very clear to me that the Co-op is a very important and central part of our community. My local Co-op, via the Local Community Fund, helped raise £1,865.33 for our local children’s kids club, and have helped our school in so many ways.

However, this isn’t just the only point to this. Help. The Co-op cares and really helps so many good causes; ethically and responsibly sourced produce, from all over the world, helping communities to stay communities.

Compassion. So I don’t want this piece to be an advert for the Co-op. I want to talk about how the Co-op can touch people's lives, in a hugely positive way. And from a very personal experience I can attest to that.

Kindness. In 2017 I lost everything. I awoke in a church yard in the early hours, in the rain. The church bell kept me awake virtually every half an hour! The point is I had lost everything - in the blink of an eye, it is amazing how quickly the process can happen, and it can happen to anyone.

Homeless and hopeless, I had no one to turn to. Sleeping rough would kill me, so I looked for help. I found it in The Salvation Army. The Co-op supports the Sally Army in so many ways, their tea ‘Small bags of kindnesses, is just a small example. I say small, but the saying ‘one small act of random kindness a day’ sums it up. And in some ways, for me, that’s what the Co-op and its members represent, and I’m a proud member.

Co-op projects past and present, such as ‘Street Homeless Creative’,’#BeingCoop: Sleep out for the homeless', ‘Booth Centre support’, are beacons of hope for the homeless.

If elected to the Council, I would champion the help and causes we can give to the homeless, amongst the other amazing causes, and would love to be involved in shaping future projects. If you’ve never been homeless, it is difficult to describe the despair you feel.

Being made homeless, and climbing out of that abyss, you need all the help and friendship you can get, trust me.

And if it hadn’t have worked out, at least the Co-op could have buried me :-)