Starlets bag funding boost from Tesco

25 June 2018

Stevenage Starlets FC are delighted to announce we have bagged an amazing funding boost from Tesco’s Bags of Help community grant scheme.

Bags of Help is run in partnership with environmental charity Groundwork, and sees grants raised from the sale of carrier bags awarded to thousands of local community projects every year. Since launching in 2015, it’s provided more than £48 million to over 13,000 local community projects.

Shoppers have been voting in Tesco stores across the Stevenage area and it can now be revealed Starlets have been awarded an incredible £4,000!

Starlets Club Secretary and Coach Denise Wells said:

"Playing football can make a big difference to girls' lives in so many ways, not only in terms of exercise but also building confidence and learning vital life skills such as determination, discipline, resilience and teamwork".

"We want to ensure that as many girls as possible can enjoy the benefits that come from playing football, so while we collect annual fees from all of our players, these are kept to a minimum and only cover basic costs".

"Securing additional funding like this means we can plan for the future of our club, investing in equipment and facilities to ensure that many more girls will have the chance to be part of it for years to come".

"We are immensely grateful to Tesco for this amazing contribution. A huge thank you to them and all those who voted for us in stores with their blue tokens".

Alec Brown, Tesco’s Head of Community, 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. We can’t wait to see the projects come to life.”

Voting ran in stores throughout January and February with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the checkout.

Tesco customers 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 are awarded funding.

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:

“Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down the UK 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.”

For more information about the scheme please visit tesco.com/bagsofhelp