Ballakermeen High School is delighted to announce it has bagged £5000 from a Tesco funding scheme.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help funding initiative, which sees grants of up to £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000
– all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to thousands of local community projects every year.
Millions of shoppers voted in stores up and down the country. And it can now be revealed Ballakermeen High School has been awarded £5000
Work will now begin on bringing the project to life.
The school aims to make the environment greener through planting trees and shrubs, creating areas for students to meet up with friends and socialise at breaks and lunchtimes. These environmental improvements will add to the school’s major initiative to improve student and staff wellbeing which is now well underway.
Head Teacher Adrienne Burnett said:
‘Our environment is one of Ballakermeen’s strengths, with many striking and frequently updated displays celebrating our students’ work and achievements. Sympathetic and tasteful planting will be a wonderful enhancement, not just for us, but for the many community users of our site and we’re really looking forward to getting going on the project.’
Lindsey Crompton, Tesco’s Head of Community, said:
‘Bags of Help has been a fantastic success.
‘We’ve been overwhelmed by the response from our customers. The great thing about Bags of Help is that local people are invited to decide how the money will be spent in their community. We can’t wait to see the projects come to life.'
Voting ran in stores throughout January with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out.
Since launching in 2015, Bags of Help has awarded more than £27 million across more than 3,500 local projects.
Tesco customers will get the chance to vote for three different groups each time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
Bags of Help criteria have recently been extended to include any project that benefits the community. Previously the scheme funded outdoor projects only.
Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:
'Bags of Help continues to fund thousands of projects across the UK. We want to ensure that the money raised benefits as many local people in as many different places as possible so we’ve extended the range of groups and projects that we can support.
'The scale and variety of activities supported by Bags of Helps shows what can be achieved when communities are given the support and the encouragement they need to make change happen in their local area.'
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
