Giving back to the local community

A true driver of success at The Peter Cooper Motor Group is community engagement, writes Darren Cooper, managing director (pictured centre front).

Celebrating 40 years in business is a milestone that all our staff are very proud of at The Peter Cooper Motor Group. In our mind, a successful business is not just about looking after your staff or having first rate customer service – it is both of them. However, we have always gone one step further, believing any successful business should support its communities, promoting growth with positive engagement and giving back with time and other important resources.  

Over the years we have supported, sponsored, donated, partnered, and raised money for hundreds of local charities, groups, organisations, and sports clubs along the South Coast. It has been part of our DNA and our staff actively take a huge interest in local community initiatives, knowing they will always have support from the company.

Over the years we have supported many well-known charities including Cancer Research, JDRF, Wessex Heartbeat and the Wessex Cancer Trust, as well as some more locally focused ones like Naomi House, the Knights Foundation, Rotary Clubs and the Saints Foundation.

To mark our 40th Anniversary, we launched The Peter Cooper Motor Group Foundation. This will showcase the company’s commitment to local businesses, charities and sports organisations and underline the great work we do moving forward.

Another initiative to mark our 40th anniversary and the Foundation’s launch, is our commitment to raise £40,000 this year. This will be split across two main charities: Cancer Research UK and JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). JDRF is a charity for children with type 1 diabetes and a funder of world-class medical research to cure, prevent and treat it. Both charities remain close to the family’s hearts, although our aim is to raise funds for several other charities as well.

The company’s popular annual golf day saw over 100 golfers compete on the Downs course at Goodwood. The annual event is always a sell out and although operating within significant Covid restrictions, we still managed to raise over £17,000.

We understand our communities are the beating heart of our businesses; a great example of this is our sponsorship of Hampshire Cricket, who we have sponsored for over three decades. The key to all of our sponsorships is working together, driving as much value into both sides of our partnerships as possible.

As we embark on the next part of the company’s journey, we face many new and unchartered initiatives. However, our core values will always ensure that our community engagement remains high on our agenda…….it wouldn’t be the same company without it.

dcooper@petercoopergroup.co.uk