Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which will see grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in 10 Tesco stores in and around the town awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in the region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and The Poppy Factory, which supports wounded, injured and sick veterans back into work in their communities, is one of those the shortlist.
Deirdre Mills, Chief Executive of The Poppy Factory, said:
“We are delighted to have been chosen and I would urge people in High Wycombe to cast their votes for The Poppy Factory. The cash raised through this fantastic initiative could help us make a real difference to veterans living in the area who have a mental or physical health condition and who want to get back into meaningful employment.”
Voting is open now until the end of February.
Customers cast their votes using a token given to them at the check-out each time they shop at the two Tesco Superstores in the Eden Shopping Centre, Newland Street or London Road, Loudwater.
Shoppers can also drop tokens at the eight Tesco Express stores in Amersham Road, Plomer Green Avenue, Chapel Lane, New Road, Marlow Road, The Parade in Bourne End, Wycombe Road in Stokenchurch, or The Green in Wooburn Green.
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.
Issued for and on behalf of The Poppy Factory
