Bridport Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these businesses and organisations regularly in a feature called 'Up Close in Bridport'.

We caught up with Lesley Windsor, the Co-op Member Pioneer for Bridport and Beaminster and asked her to tell us about her role.

She said: "The Pioneer comes from the Rochdale Pioneers that were around in the mid-1800s. There was a lot of unemployment, poverty, hunger and social inequality at the time, so they set up a co-operative to provide people with affordable and good quality food, and any surplus they invested into the local community. That is believed to be the beginning of the co-operative movement. It is that movement the Co-op has held onto.

"What makes the Co-op different to most supermarkets is it's still based on those values and principles, as when you join the Co-op and you get your membership card - that's not a loyalty card - then you are part of this Co-op, you can actually vote for the leadership. For every £1 you spend on Co-op products, 2p goes back to you, but 2p also goes back to our local community, and that's where I come in."

Lesley brings together Co-op's members, colleagues and local causes to help the community and support three local causes in the area.

The three current Local Causes in Bridport are Stepping Out cancer rehabilitation group, ASCape, which offers support to parents and carers of children and young people with ASC or social anxiety, and Bridport Leisure Centre, which is using the money to adapt facilities and make them COVID compliant.

Lesley adds that it is not just financially that she and Co-op can help local groups and organisations.

"It's not always about giving money; it's how we can connect people and support people in projects," she said.

"I would like to invite any local community groups to get in touch and see where we can support them."

Lesley enjoys being a Co-op Pioneer as it enables her to make a difference in her community.

She said: "My community work covers fairer access to mental wellbeing support, food - we work with a FoodShare partner, the community garden glut stall in St Swithun's Church every Thursday - and opportunities for young people.

"I really believe strongly in community, the strength and resilience of building up a strong community. I am also very aware of the need for sustainability.

"The Co-op role came up and those values and to be based within the community was appealing, and I was doing a lot of that work anyway. It's finding ways of feeling like you're contributing to society - it's a lovely job."

And as a Member Pioneer, Lesley was able to make a difference to care workers during the pandemic.

She added: "When it was Fairtrade Fortnight, I got to take a couple of huge boxes of Fairtrade bananas to the glut stall, who are Foodshare partners, and I also gave the manager some suggestions of what we might do. He decided to give a 'thank you' to carers throughout COVID, so we contacted St James' Park care home in Bradpole. It has around 30 employees, so we made them little packages of Fairtrade teas and coffees, biscuits and chocolate.

"The feeling when you can see the support, you're giving is helping the community, that is really lovely."

When asked what personal qualities have proved useful as a Member Pioneer, Lesley said it is important to know the local groups and organisations, the work they do and the needs of the community.

It is because of this knowledge that Lesley was able to find someone who could help the youth club with their planters, which were made and donated by Bridport Community Shed.

She said: "It's that sort of thing you need to know, the quality you need to have, you need to know what's going on in your local community to be able to make those links and connections."

You can contact Lesley at [email protected].

If any local groups or organisations would like to get in contact with Lesley, this can be done through the Facebook page here or by emailing [email protected].

If you've got any ideas on how Co-op could help your community , or want to know what Co-op is doing near you then contact the Co-op Member Pioneer Co-ordinator for your area, who will then put you in touch with your local Member Pioneer.