Middleton Youth Band calls out for votes to bag a share of Tesco’s bag fund
Middleton Youth Band is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
Middleton Youth Band is one of the groups on the shortlist.
Middleton Youth Band believes every young person should have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument and that there should be no financial barrier, as such we provide brass tuition and instrument loan to any young person who wants to learn.
We are aiming to make learning to play a brass instrument even more accessible to members of the community. We have applied again to Tesco bags of help for £4000 to help us fund further new cohorts of beginners, brass workshops, and to provide advanced practical and theory tuition.
We think that musical education can really make a positive difference in a young person’s life. The benefits of learning to play an instrument are vast and varied, from developing confidence and improved memory skills to a widening social circle. Our young people develop skills which can really shape their lives both academically and socially.
Voting is open in all Tesco stores in January and February and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.
Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every 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:
“Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. 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:
“Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. 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.”
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.