Community groups gain Tesco fund cash boost

Four across Loughborough are set to benefit

FOUR community groups across Loughborough have benefitted from Tesco’s COVID-19 Community Fund.

With £500 grants still up for grabs, a total of £2,500 has been given to groups across the local area since lockdown, with Tesco providing an extra £4m of extra funding to groups across the UK reacting to the pandemic.

The grants are part of the retailer’s £30m package of support to help local communities tackling the Coronavirus outbreak.

Groups in Loughborough which have benefitted from the grant include Falcon Support Services, John Storer Charnwood,

Bangladesh Social Association and The Bridge (East Midlands).

The supermarket is now encouraging even more groups in Loughborough to apply for its £500 grants to help them in their work.

Keith Jackson, Bags of Help manager at Tesco, said: “Due to the sustained need for the emergency support we’re seeing from local community groups, we took the decision to extend the scheme’s deadline beyond the original 12-week mark.

“We’re already working with all kinds of groups up the length and breadth of the country, all of whom are in urgent need of a cash boost in order to go on providing local people with vital services, but we’ve widened this even further. Whether you are from a homeless charity, a foodbank, or a support network for vulnerable individuals, you could qualify for some immediate financial support.”

Tesco Group CEO, Dave Lewis, said: “Our stores are at the heart of the communities we serve and as well as supporting our customers and colleagues, we want to help those who need it most, locally. We will significantly boost our food donations programme, to ensure food banks and community groups have the supplies they need; whilst giving extra resources to the British Red Cross and focus our Bags of Help scheme to deliver more community support where its most needed at this difficult time.”

Tesco’s Bags of Help COVID-19 Community Fund aims to support as many groups as possible across the country with grants of £500.

“This includes, but is not limited to, women’s refuges, foodbanks, hospices, homeless charities, social isolation groups, schools, charities supporting the elderly and local authorities. The application and payment process is simple to provide support quickly to these important causes.

The process is managed through Tesco’s partner charity Groundwork’s website. Any groups that would benefit from this funding are encouraged to apply at www.tescobagsofhelp. org.uk