This year, Co-op's Local Community Fund has helped over 4,500 local causes up and down the UK.

TS Ardent Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets are certainly a good example of this.

The Sea Cadets aim to give young people an experience that will help them grow into the person they want to be through activities and adventures in a safe and friendly environment.

As an organisation built on volunteering, the latest payout funding will offer a welcome boost to the sea cadets.

Lieutenant Karen Black, the Commanding Officer of the Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets, said: "We offer young people a range of different activities, from sailing, windsurfing, powerboating, camping, music; plus much, much more."

"We help as much as we can in the community. At the moment obviously it has been very difficult."

The payout, funded by local Co-op Members, is going towards a purpose-built home for the sea cadets in Bollington.

Jason Gaunt, the chair of the unit management committee, explained: "This money will go towards a very big project we're working on. For a number of years now we have had to hold our parade nights in a school in Bollington.

"We're on a campaign to raise in excess of £200,000 to enable us to have a purpose-built facility on the site of our old building on the wharf."

How does Payout work?

When Co-op Members buy selected Co-op branded products and services,2p for every pound spent is split between local causes across the country.

And it soon adds up, because Members have helped raise £15 million for 4,500 causes this year.

From supporting projects that improve access to physical health and mental wellbeing, to education and employment opportunities for young people, the Local Community Fund has never been so vital.

The Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets are a just one great example of a local cause that have been helped through the Local Community Fund.

To find out more about the Sea Cadets, click here.

And to find out more about Co-op Membership, click here.