Three south London community projects have received a welcome cash boost thanks to community conscious customers at Tesco’s Crystal Palace Express store on Annerley Road.
Over the months of July, August and September, customers have been voting in the most recent round of the retailer’s Stronger Starts programme, where three local schools, charities and community groups receive a share of a £3,000 grant pot.
Bromley Children and Families Voluntary Sector Forum received £1500 to fund a supply of healthy snacks and breakfast options for local young people and families in need.
The Maypole Project, an organisation which supports children and young people with complex medical needs, received £1,000 to purchase therapy playboxes containing art materials, playdough, fidget toys, clay and pencils to help children engage in therapy. Finally, The Hygiene Bank received £500 to purchase essential hygiene products for distribution to local people in the community.
Shanna Jarvis, Safeguarding Manager at Bromley Children & Families Voluntary Sector Forum said, “As one of Bromley’s approved providers of holiday, activities and food camps, this coming winter holiday we will have spaces for 780 children and young people who receive means-tested free school meals. Although the programme is funded, it only covers the cost of the enrichment activities and one meal each day. However, some children may not have eaten since their last free school meal at school, so to ensure they can start the day with enough energy, we will use the Tesco Stronger Starts funding to provide a breakfast and healthy snack station, allowing them to choose nutritious options.
We are incredibly grateful to Tesco and its customers for supporting this work and helping us give local children a stronger start to their day.”
Crystal Palace Express store manager Luc Burgess said “We are delighted to see three local good causes awarded a share of £3,000 through Tesco Stronger Starts where customers use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit people in their local area. It’s great to see the impact that the funding makes and I encourage more local schools, charities and community organisations to apply for a Stronger Starts grant to help fund their work in the local community.”
The Stronger Starts scheme, in partnership with the Groundwork charity, aims to support schools, charities and local community projects across the UK by giving customers the chance to vote using a blue voting token given to them in store. Local causes chosen can then receive a grant of up to £500, £1,000 or £1,500.
Customers across London can support local organisations and groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.
For further information about Stronger Starts and to apply for a grant, head to https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk