LIKE most Co-op stores, the Socketts Heath branch in Grays supports three local good causes annually through financial donations.

When Co-op members shop with the store, one per cent of what they spend on selected Co-op branded products and services goes to support local causes through the Local Community Fund.

Members can choose a local cause that they want their donation to support, and a hugely popular choice at Socketts Heath is the Friends of Treetops School.

The Friends provide an external support group for Treetops, which is a nationally recognised centre of educational excellence, supporting children from three to 19 with learning difficulties.

Made up of parents, staff and volunteers, the Friends raise money for extra-curricular activities to help the pupils.

Susie Sullivan is secretary of the Friends and said: "We would like to say a big thank-you to the Co-op and its customers for the invaluable support which has helped us through the past year to create a Sensory Garden, obtain new bicycle safety equipment, iPads for the Speech & Language and Art Departments, playground equipment and with trips out - though obviously this was curtailed by coronavirus."

You can learn more about the work of the Friends and how to help them via their website.