Between 12 noon and 1.00ppm on October 15th, shoppers in 100 large Tesco stores across the UK will be given the chance to take part in a lucky dip to find specially created gold versions of its iconic blue voting token worth £1million in grants to local good causes.
The finders will then be able to choose which of the three local good causes in Glamorgan’s three store’s current vote will receive a £10,000 Golden Grant while at the same time receiving a Tesco voucher as a thank you for taking part.
There is one ‘digital’ golden token which customers can win by nominating a charity through the Tesco Golden Grants competition, which will be running on the @Tesco Twitter channel.
The £1million donation marks £100 million in Community Grants being given to more than 50,000 good causes since they were launched in 2016. Good causes that have benefited include breakfast clubs, food banks, Meals on Wheels, playgrounds and green spaces, parks and green spaces, counselling and support services for young people and children’s sports teams.
England Lioness, Ella Toone, has teamed up with Tesco to launch the Golden Grants by surprising ATF (Achieve, Thrive, Flourish) in Basildon with the first golden token. ATF is a group which works with young people and communities and was one of the first ever recipients of a Tesco Community Grant.
With many small, often volunteer-run groups facing rising costs, Community Grants are vital at the moment to help them keep going. The current cost of living crisis is also seeing many groups starting to offer hot meals or warm spaces in addition to their usual services.
Ella Toone said: “I’ve seen first-hand the amazing work that local groups do and how they support their communities. It’s more important than ever that they get the vital funding they need through projects like Tesco Community Grants, so they can continue making such a huge difference to so many people.
A previous grant winner from Glamorgan is The Morgan Jones Community Allotment, who in 2018, received £1,000 from Tesco. With a mission to encourage community gardening and reduce social isolation for the disabled, elderly and poorly, the allotment provides accessible growing beds, tools, handrails and path improvements for the local resident to enjoy.
As a volunteer run initiative, the community project is an important pillar to the local community giving people a purpose during a time in their lives where they may otherwise feel isolated due to unemployment, retirement, or an inability to access other support services or mainstream education. People from all of these groups have taken part over the past four years.
Jason Tarry, Tesco and ROI CEO, said: “We have never donated to so many communities in just a single day. £10,000 can make a huge difference to local groups and help them weather the current rises in costs. We’re giving customers who visit the stores taking part a chance to make help a good cause that’s doing amazing work on their doorstep.”