Howzat! Cricket Club Among Community Projects Celebrating £150,000 Tesco Landmark

Published on: 13 Apr, 2019
Updated on: 13 Apr, 2019

Merrow Cricket Club

This month, the Guildford charities and community groups marked up a welcome total of £150,000 Tesco Bags of Help funding. The huge figure has been reached in only four years, the Tesco scheme having been launched with the charity, Groundwork.

One recipient was the 130-year-old Merrow Cricket Club, also involved in child cricket development as well as adult teams, which needed £1,000 to repair an outbuilding where important equipment is stored.

Tim Barnes, vice-chairman of the club, said: “We’re very grateful to Tesco for this funding. The roof needed to be replaced.

“Now the building will continue to serve the club and the community for years because the equipment will be kept in optimum condition, allowing us to have excellent playing facilities for cricket training of all ages and abilities.

“Merrow Cricket Club has embedded itself in the local community, hosting a local nursery and drawing local residents to enjoy cricket in a friendly, welcoming atmosphere, promoting a safe and family-focused enjoyment of the sport.”

Through Bags of Help, Tesco customers vote in-store for their preferred local project, using the blue token given to them at the checkout. Every two months, Tesco hands out grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 in 575 local regions across the country.

Alec Brown, Tesco’s had of community, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers who get to decide how the money will be spent in their community.”

Bags of Help has distributed a total of £71 million to more than 23,000 local 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.”

Funding is available to community groups and charities for 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