The Heart of England Co-operative Society’s caring Helping Hearts scheme has donated £1,000 to the Coventry branch of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) – the charity which supports blind and partially sighted people.

The cash will go to the charity’s Rushton School and Children’s Home, in Wheelwright Lane, in the Holbrooks area of the city.

The RNIB was one of six charities and causes chosen by Society members in a recent survey to receive a share of £10,000.

With the largest number of votes the Alzheimer’s Society was awarded £5,000. The remaining share of the cash was equally distributed between RNIB and the four next popular charities – the Breast Cancer Unit at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, Motor Neurone Disease, Diabetes UK and MIND.

Mark Sanderson, Director of Rushton, said: “The money donated by the Heart of England Co-operative Society will be used to support the major re-development  of RNIB Rushton School and Children’s Home, an RNIB service that offers specialist education, 52 week care, therapies and health support to children and young people with sight loss and additional complex needs.

“Donations like this will allow us to offer an increased provision of high quality education, care and health support for our young people and ultimately enabling more families to gain the support they need.”

The charity survey was conducted through the 2009 Members’ Calendar amongst the 70,000 registered members of the Heart of England Society throughout Coventry, Warwickshire and south Leicestershire, who were then invited to vote for six charities to receive a slice of the cash.

The Society pledged the cash from its Helping Hearts Awards scheme, which uses the profits of tobacco sales to distribute among charities, worthy causes and community projects.

The Calendar also contained vouchers worth hundreds of pounds of savings in the Society’s Food, Non-Food and Travel stores, including 10 per cent off one food shopping visit above £5 each month, alongside attractive local scenes.

Membership of the Society is open to anyone aged 16 or above living in the Society’s trading area, with application forms available from all of the Society’s Food and Non-Food stores across the region.

Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society commented:  “The Royal National Institute of Blind People not only carries out vital research but also provides a lifeline to individuals who are blind or partially sighted to ensure quality of life.  We are therefore pleased to be able to offer our support with this donation.”

Since its launch in 2000 the Helping Hearts scheme has pledged £486,000 to charities and worthwhile causes throughout the Society’s trading region.