Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is one of the groups on the shortlist.
The Charity cares for ex-Servicemen and women and their partners living with disability or dementia. Money from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative will go towards funding a new minibus for the Home in Surbiton.
Caley Eldred is Director of Supporter Engagement at the Charity. She said: “We’re so excited to be part of the Tesco Bags of Help programme. We need to replace our minibus so we can continue taking residents on outings and activities, and to vital medical appointments. We’re hoping as many people as possible can pop their tokens in for The Royal Star & Garter Homes.”
Voting is open in all Tesco stores from 1 January to 28 February and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.
Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”
Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.”
Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp
You can vote for The Royal Star & Garter Homes at the following Tesco stores:
- Chessington Hook Express, Hook Road, Chessington
- Tesco Express, Richmond Road, Kingston
- New Malden Express, High Street, New Malden
- Norbiton Express, The Triangle, Kingston
- Surbiton Hook Road Express, Hook Road
- Tolworth Esso Express, The Broadway, Tolworth
- Worcester Park Express, Malden Road, Worcester Park
For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper
Communications Officer
e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org
t: 0208 481 7669 / 07391 868796
Cally Madden
Marketing & Communications Manager
e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org
t: 020 8481 7692 / 07881 017299
Notes to editors:
- The Bags of Help initiative is supported by money raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores.
- So far Bags of Help has awarded more than £63 million to over 20,000 community projects.
- For more information please visit: tesco.com/bagsofhelp.
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2019.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
