We’ve bagged a share of a £11.5million carrier bag charge fund

We are delighted to announce we have bagged £12,000 from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

The supermarket teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative, which saw grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects.

Shoppers in the region cast their votes and we came out on top with an award £12,000. Work will now begin on bringing the project to life. The funding will be used to transform the approach to the hospice. We plan to create a new pathway, landscape the driveway and put in wooden planters and new signage, as well as improving the CCTV, to make the hospice more welcoming and secure for families.

Ronald Graham, Head of Finance and Facilities at Rainbows, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been awarded this funding and thank every single person who voted for us. To be nominated as the most popular choice among voters is a huge testament to the importance of the work we do at Rainbows. “Grants like this, along with donations, are the only way that Rainbows can continue to open its doors on a daily basis, providing support to hundreds of families who desperately need our care.

“The approach the hospice hasn’t been updated since we opened over 20 years ago in 1994. This money will help us create an entrance that is warm, friendly and secure for the families who visit us and need our help at the most difficult of times.”

Caroline Silke, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and the feedback has been brilliant. We can’t wait to see the money being put to use bringing these projects to life.”

Voting ran in store from 27 February until 6 March – with customers choosing which group they’d like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out in store.

Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “We have been delighted to have been involved in the Bags of Help project. It has been wonderful to follow the projects through the application process to the final announcement. “This is money which will go directly back into the communities up and down the country creating places to meet people, be active, play or simply relax. This initiative is really putting something back into the local environment, transforming greenspaces and helping the community at a grass-roots level.”