New weekly Barshaw event reaps rewards of 5p charge
Shoppers at a Paisley supermarket have donated £5,000 to help launch a fun community event for kids.
Tesco’s Bags of Help token scheme lets customers choose where the money raised from the five pence bag charge should go.
Customers are given a token at the checkout to use to vote for their favourite of three community projects.
And one of the schemes chosen by the customers of the supermarket’s East Lane store, in Paisley, was the Friends of Barshaw Park’s Junior Park Run, which is a 2k event for youngsters.
Allan Thompson, of Friends of Barshaw Park, said: “Tesco has given us funds to set up a junior run.
“And our next stage was to get volunteers to support the weekly event.
“We used Facebook, put it on our web page and leafleted.
“We held a meeting at the park last Sunday on a freezing cold morning and we got enough volunteers to run each event.
“We needed about 12 for each event and got more than that. “So we were pleased by that.” Junior Parkrun, which is organised by the UK- wide Parkrun organisation, is a series of nationwide 2k runs for children aged between four and 14.
They are held around the UK and are open to all, are free, safe and easy to take part in, according to the organisers.
Friends of Barshaw Park describe themselves as a group of local residents who love the park and want to see it restored, looked after and improved as it moves into its one hundred and second year.
Tony McElroy, Tesco’s head of communications for Scotland, said: “It is wonderful to see how Bags of Help grants can support local groups, like The Friends of Barshaw Park, which are striving to make a difference in their communities.
“There was great enthusiasm for this initiative from both Tesco colleagues and our customers and we wish the group every success as it does its bit to promote healthy lifestyles across Paisley.”
If you would like to volunteer for the Junior Parkrun event, or get involved with Friends of Barshaw Park, visit www. friendsofbarshawpark.org.uk
Allan Thompson