THE Ilkley Good Neighbours charity is bidding to get an important cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

The shop’s community funding scheme sees grants of up to £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in their stores awarded to deserving local community projects.

The scheme was launched by Tesco and Groundwork and has already delivered over £40 million to 9,700 projects across the UK.

In each Tesco local region three groups are invited to submit bids and shoppers are invited to vote for who they think should benefit from a grant.

The Ilkley Good Neighbours Moving On project meets every week at Ilkley Playhouse on a Monday morning where people over the age of 60 have a chance to chat with volunteers who have time to listen, who can help them make new friends, and assist in finding activities to take part in locally. The Co-ordinator Janet Love, thinks they can expand the project significantly if they succeed in being given a financial boost.

She said: “Moving On is a really important and growing community service which helps open doors for older people who, through changes in circumstances, may feel isolated, want to make new acquaintances, and be given support to try different interests, from walking to dancing, to attending plays, concerts or a pantomime.

“Often just coming along and having a free tea or coffee in a relaxed environment with other people in a similar situation can make a big difference. The Tesco carrier bag sales initiative has clearly helped a great number of local groups around the country and if our bid is fortunate enough to get through it will absolutely help us improve many lives in the area. Please help us achieve our target by voting for Ilkley Good Neighbours”.

Voting is open throughout March and April. Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each 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: “We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for March and April. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between. “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 visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.

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