AN Ilkley-based community charity working with children with disabilities has received a significant boost thanks to a £4,000 from Tesco.

Launched in summer 2018, The LS29 Time Holiday Club aims to provide fun activities for youngsters whilst giving holiday respite for family carers. And a year on from the funding, the group has put the grant towards putting on events for young people with additional needs in Ilkley and surrounding areas.

Based at Ilkley Little Lane Children’s Centre, the club runs separate sessions for primary and secondary age young people. Primary days focus on sensory, art and physical play activities, while secondary days involve trips in and around the community.

The trips for secondary aged children give young people an opportunity to make friends, grow confidence, try new experiences and practice independence skills like ordering in cafes and navigating timetables on public transport.

The £4,000 support, through Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme, paid for trips out for young people with a range of complex needs, including to a trampolining centre, Nell Bank outdoors activity centre, Bradford Media museum, Stockeld Park, a recording studio, a sensory showroom, and an arts and craft workshop.

LS29 Time trustee Jane Elliott said: “We’re very grateful to Tesco and their customers for choosing to donate to our holiday club. The trips we offer are a wonderful experience for the young people who take part. We organise the specialist support and the access arrangements so that they can go to places that might otherwise be difficult for them to get to.

“We wouldn’t be able to offer these young people so many amazing new experiences without help from the community, so I’d like to say thank you very much to Tesco for their support.”

The Tesco Bags of Help grants, which are administered by the charity Groundwork, sees money awarded to thousands of local community projects every year.

David Ford, Local Communications Manager of the North, said: “We are really proud of the impact Bags of Help has had in communities across Yorkshire. LS29 Time is just one of many groups across the nation which have benefitted from funding through the scheme, and we have awarded millions to similar projects which benefit communities across the region. We would encourage anyone with a project that could make a difference to their local community to find out about how Bags of Help could help them.”

To date, Bags of Help has provided more than £80million to more than 27,000 community projects across the UK.

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, said: “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.”

Visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp for more information.