RamsTrust will be linking up this Saturday with many other co-operative organisations at Villa Park, Birmingham - home of Aston Villa FC. We will be in the Holte Suite alongside a variety of partner co-operatives - admission is free and the event runs from 11.00 am to 3.30 pm.

The event is part of Co-operatives Fortnight, with meetings and exhibitions taking place throughout the UK to promote and celebrate co-operative organisations, which came into being over 160 years ago.

Visit the Midlands Co-operative website to see their range of services and download the Co-operatives Fortnight Villa Park event programme pdf document at:

http://www.midlandsco-op.com/

The celebration programme at Villa Park will see well-known organisations on display, from Oxfam and Vital Earth to the Midlands Co-operative Society, who have many different divisions ranging from their retail stores, Co-op Travel and Holidays, and Funeral Services, all of whom will be present at the event.

There will also be a series of presentations throughout the day, on topics including community retailing, environmental solutions as well as a talk showcasing different types of co-operatives and their achievements nationwide throughout the decades.

There will be also be raffles, competitions, food tastings and personnel from over two dozen co-operatives for you to meet and talk to. Come and talk to us about football trusts and their work at all levels of football!

Whilst retaining an independent outlook on football and Derby County FC, RamsTrust has always been involved in community and heritage work at events like Co-operatives Fortnight.

Our own displays will demonstrate our achievements over the past 7 years and provide more information on the work of all supporter trusts. We want to promote true supporter representation in the game and the benefits this can bring to football and the community.

We’ll therefore also be representing Supporters Direct, the umbrella organisation for all UK trusts, which now number over 160. It’s an organisation that raises many ££millions within the game and involves over 150,000 active members.

We will be also be offering some of our range of football merchandise, gifts and badges so if you are an exiled Ram or a footy fan based in the West Midlands, come along and meet us!

Friendly society pioneers that emerged in places like Ayrshire and Rochdale set up an alternative trading system and laid the foundations for the diverse range of organisations now sharing the democratic, mutual principles.

Communities set up democratic trading and voluntary organisations for the mutual, democratic benefit of all members, instead of only owners or shareholders.

The original co-operatives challenged those punitive trading systems, enabling local communities to democratically share their produce and services. The modern Industrial and Provident Society now has many different guises.

The Co-operative retail stores are the most visible High Street representation of mutual organisations - and no-one can deny the growing football supporter activism that has seen the growth of the trust movement accelerate over the past decade.

There has been a high-profile rise of fan groups that question the style of some club regimes at giant clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, for example. RamsTrust was active in questioning, lobbying and exposing the fraudulent Pride Park Stadium regime between 2002-06, action which
led to several convictions.

Saturday’s event is all about displaying the movement’s growth to the present-day diversity of co-operative organisations - and we hope you’ll join us all in the celebrations at Villa Park!