The Co-operative, Balloon Street, Manchester. Photo credit: Steveo1000.

If you're a Shareable reader, then you probably already know that co-ops are celebrated on a regular basis around these parts. But, since October is officially Co-op Month, we thought we should point out why co-ops are so celebrated… with a little help from TESA's "10 Reasons Co-ops Rock" poster.

The fact that co-ops are democratically owned and operated is widely understood, but that model brings with it a wealth of empowering benefits, such as:

• Co-ops' jobs and revenues, by nature, stay within their local communities.
• Co-ops are more resilient during economic downturns.
• Co-ops generally bake social and environmental needs and solutions into their missions.

Further still, cooperatives don't exist in some foreign socialist utopia of the future (or past). They are organizations that operate in neighborhoods all over the world right now run by over 800 million members. Support one, join one, or start one today!