Claire House Children’s Hospice are bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help Centenary Grant initiative.
To celebrate Tesco’s Centenary, the supermarket has teamed up with Groundwork to deliver a special voting round of its community funding scheme which will see grants of £25,000, £15,000 and £10,000 awarded to community projects.
Three groups in each Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
Claire House is one of the groups on the shortlist.
For Claire House, the Tesco’s Centenary grant would enable the hospice to fund a Play Specialist who provide crucial and engaging play to the children the hospice supports.
The Claire House Play Team use many different forms of play, from sensory, messy and outdoor play to music, relaxation and computers such as Eye Gaze technology.
The Play Specialists not only provide support to the children who come to the hospice, their work also benefits the whole family including bereaved brothers and sisters.
“Claire House is thrilled to be shortlisted in our region for the Bags of Help initiative. With play, the children we support are given the chance to smile, release emotions, feel stimulated and just literally have fun which is something all children love to do.” Says Rosie Barret, Play Specialist at Claire House.
“We are encouraging all of our supporters in the region to keep an eye out in their local Tesco store. Their vote could enable our Play team to continue providing stimulating and engaging play to the children we support.” Says Sophie Chilvers, Trusts Fundraiser at Claire House.
Voting is open in all Tesco stores this month and 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 £75 million to more than 25,000 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 contributes funds to community projects up and down the country and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers voting in their local stores. We’re looking forward to seeing more projects brought to life.”
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.
