The St Dominick Community Shop provides an essential service for local people and visitors to the area. Every time money is spent, customers are contributing to building a surplus that can, in due course, be spent on improving the Shop or donating to Village projects for the greater benefit of all within the Community. The Shop is managed by two part time paid staff and a rota of over fifty dedicated Volunteers that cover the Shop opening hours.
Meet the team
- The Managers
Two part-time Managers run the Shop operation and are the Shop’s only paid employees.
Helen Eynon – Shop Manager
Helen is an experienced retail manager and is responsible for ordering all the stock for the Shop. Listening to the customers needs, working with suppliers to get the right goods at the best prices and organising the layout and display in the Shop are her key responsibilities.
Serena Stevens – Operations Manager
Serena is an experienced grocery shop manager and is responsible for all the procedures and administration that is necessary for the smooth running of the Shop. Processing invoices, managing the till and card payment processes & procedures, and ensuring sound health & safety management in the Shop are her key responsibilities.
Both the Managers work a regular shift in the Shop as volunteers.
- The Volunteers
There are over 50 Volunteers drawn from the local community that give up time each week to work in the Shop. They learn all the essential processes & procedures so that they can serve customers, operate the till, and keep the shelves stocked, clean & tidy. Our Homepage cover photo is a picture of about half of our dedicated Volunteer team
- The Board
The Board members are elected periodically at Annual General Meetings and are responsible for the proper functioning and performance of the Shop. That means making sure that:
- All legal responsibilities are discharged
- Plans and objectives are set to improve and maintain the successful operation of the Shop
- Financial and other targets are achieved
- Shareholders receive a quarterly report on the Shop’s performance
- A Shareholder Annual General Meeting is organised each year to report on achievements & plans and vote on matters required under the Constitution as a Community Benefit Society.
The current Board members are:
- Dave Fry – Chair
- Sue Morrish – Board Secretary
- Linda Fry – Volunteer Coordinator
- Karl Hughes – Premises Manager
- Pauline Lawrence – Comms & Marketing & Staff line management
The Shop Treasurer, Graham Wilkins, is invited to every Board to provide information, advice & guidance to the Board.
Being a Community Benefit Society
The Shop operates as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) which is a separate and distinct entity to a company registered at Companies House or a charity regulated by the Charity Commission. A CBS exists to carry out business on behalf of the community it serves. The Shop trades solely for the benefit of the community and not for anyone’s private benefit. Any profits that are made are for investing in the community.
St Dominick Community Shop Limited (registered number 8227) is registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
Becoming a Shareholder
The Shop, as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) is founded and run expressly to support the needs of the community. A CBS can invite people to become a member by the purchase of shares which means they have a say in the running of the Society on a one-member-one-vote basis at General Meetings. Any profit made by a Community Benefit Society must be used for the benefit of the community and as such, any profits made by the Shop are ploughed back into the Shop or will be used in the future to support projects in the community.
We welcome anyone that would like to become a shareholder. An application form can be downloaded here for completion and return as per the instructions.
History
St Dominick established a Community Shop in November 2020 following a notice of closure of the long-standing Village Post Office and shop. Following extensive local public consultation, it was agreed to set up a new shop that would operate as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) and so operate on a non-commercial basis.
In May 2019, a Steering Group was formed with the aim of getting the new shop established and up and running. It was decided to register the new shop as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This business model was a way of creating a community asset that would be of benefit to the whole community in that every time money was spent in the Shop, customers were contributing to building a surplus that, as a CBS, would be reinvested back improving the Shop or given for other projects that were for the greater benefit of all within the Village.
The Shop has provided a vital local service to the Village that is located several miles away from a grocery shop and has been well-used and much appreciated by the local community. There are approximately 2500 transactions each year in the Shop, largely from local customers but the Shop has also marketed itself to local holiday-makers and passing day visitors.
(Gallery of photos)