Tesco has cash for community in bag

EVERY little helps . . . at Tesco

LOCAL causes have been bagging thousands of pounds of funding thanks to Oldham's Tesco stores.

Customers across the borough have been voting to give community groups and charities a cash boost through the Tesco Bags of Help initiative which is financed through the 5p bag charge.

Every other month three organisations are shortlisted for the voting process in local stores and customers are given a token at the checkout to post in the "ballot box" of their chosen cause.

Friends of Stoneleigh Park, Groundwork Bolton, Bury, Oldham and Rochdale and Hollingworth Cricket Club, in Tameside, are the latest to cash in earning grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

Grateful

Friends of Stoneleigh Park will use their windfall to create brand new raised bedding areas where young people will be able to learn skills in hot to grow their own food, with some of the crops being used for cooking sessions for younger people.

Carol Knight, group treasurer at Friends of Stoneleigh Park, said: "We're very grateful to have been awarded the top grant available by Tesco, and of course thank all the members of the public who have voted for Friends of Stoneleigh.

"We'll be putting the grant to great use and look forward to being able to provide access to fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs for park users, along with educating local young people in how and where the food they eat comes from."

Environment charity Groundwork will put their grant towards creating green spaces and working with young people.

Suzanne Walton, education and communities project officer at Groundwork, said: "Grants such as these provide outdoor spaces with much needed support, so we're really excited to be able to put this money to good use by getting more people outside and into green spaces.

Hollingworth Cricket Club will be using their £1,000 to train three coaches for the junior teams and invest in new equipment.

Tesco store manager Marie Toora said: "We're always thrilled to see local groups benefitting from the schemes we run in store, especially when it gets our customers actively involved in having their say as well.

"The initiatives we support always have such a positive effect on our local community and it's great to be able to give back, so we're really keen to get the word out and encourage even more groups and organisations apply for future grants."

The Bags of Help scheme ­- run in partnership with Groundwork ­- is permanently open for applications and anyone can nominate a project at any time ­- whether it's Tesco customers, colleagues or the community groups themselves.