Hungerford Town Council is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme. This sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being 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 to Tesco stores to vote for which they think should take away the top grant.
Hungerford Town Council is one of the groups on the shortlist and the scheme which would benefit from this is the Croft Field Garden Room.
This would offer an under-cover area for the many groups that use the field and would considerably enhance the building’s appeal as a venue and protect the main building from the weather. There would be an outdoor learning space and the whole area would be accessible for wheelchairs and fit in with our five-year plan to make the building more disabled friendly.
The Council has recently taken over the lease for this, at a time when it was at danger of being demolished due to lack of funds. It is now used by many community groups and for private hire and is in an excellent location next to the canal, near the town centre and with an adjoining field which ismuch used for a range of activities. The Council has carried out some much needed renovations internally to the building and would now like to improve the outside area.
Voting is open in all Tesco stores throughout July and August. 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 provided over £30 million to more than 4,600 projects throughout the UK. 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.
Lindsey Crompton, Head of Community at Tesco, said “We are delighted to open the voting for July and August. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life in hundreds of communities.”
“We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding,” Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury said. “These include outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens and play areas. We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”
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, click here.
