Shoppers to help deliver Tesco Centenary Grants in Devon

Two Exmouth charities are in the running to bag up to £25,000 this summer – and they need your help.

Exmouth and Exeter Tesco customers are being invited to cast their votes to help community projects in the county bag the much-needed money.

The supermarket chain is marking its Centenary with two special Bags of Help funding rounds, with a huge £100,000 funding pot in Devon.

Bags of Help, run in partnership with the charity Groundwork, sees funding awarded to thousands of local community projects every year.

Customer voting in the first of these special rounds will begin in July and will concentrate on groups delivering health and wellbeing benefits, with a particular focus on groups tackling cancer, heart disease and diabetes, in line with Tesco’s National Health Partnership.

In Devon, customers will cast their votes for Exmouth shortlisted groups HeadsUP Mental Health Awareness and Pete’s Dragons, as well as the life-saving Devon Air Ambulance Trust, using blue tokens handed out at checkouts. Grants of £25,000, £15,000 and £10,000 are up for grabs.

So far in Devon, Bags of Help has awarded £2.2million to 750 local projects.

Another voting round will launch later in the year, with even more projects sharing in the cash. The funding will reach more than 30 regions during each round, with £3,300,000 available in total.

Alec Brown, Tesco’s Head of Community, said: “In 2019, we are celebrating a century of delivering great value for our customers. And what better way to celebrate this occasion than by using our flagship community grant scheme, Bags of Help to support even more groups and organisations who are helping to make a difference across Britain.

“We encourage our shoppers to register their votes while in store and help support projects delivering health and wellbeing benefits in their local area.”

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “This is an exciting time for Bags of Help, with many more communities given the opportunity to apply for larger amounts of funding that can make a positive, long-lasting legacy where they live.”

Anyone can nominate a project for Bags of Help, and organisations and groups looking to find out more or apply should visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp