Tesco emergency grants help Rochdale groups impacted by Covid-19

Six community groups across Rochdale have benefitted from Tesco's Covid-19 Community Fund.

With £500 grants still up for grabs, a total of £3,000 has been given to groups across the local area since lockdown, with Tesco providing an extra £4million of extra funding to groups across the UK reacting to the pandemic.

The grants are part of the retailer's £30million package of support to help local communities tackling the Coronavirus outbreak.

A full list of groups in Rochdale & Heywood which have benefitted from the grant include:

• The Bond Board
• Deaf Rhinos
• Cutgate Playgroup
• Crimble Croft Community Centre
• Heywood Foodbank
• The Pantry

The supermarket is now encouraging even more groups in Rochdale to apply for its £500 grants to help them in their work.

David Ford, Local Communications Manager at Tesco in the North, said: "Due to the sustained need for the emergency support we're seeing from local community groups, we took the decision to extend the scheme's deadline beyond the original 12-week mark.

"We're already working with all kinds of groups up the length and breadth of the country, all of whom are in urgent need of a cash boost in order to go on providing local people with vital services, but we've widened this even further.

"Whether you are from a homeless charity, a foodbank, or a support network for vulnerable individuals, you could qualify for some immediate financial support."

Tesco Group CEO, Dave Lewis, said: “Our stores are at the heart of the communities we serve and as well as supporting our customers and colleagues, we want to help those who need it most, locally. We will significantly boost our food donations programme, to ensure food banks and community groups have the supplies they need; whilst giving extra resources to the British Red Cross and focus our Bags of Help scheme to deliver more community support where its most needed at this difficult time.”

To apply for funding through Bags of Help

Tesco's Bags of Help COVID-19 Community Fund aims to support as many groups as possible across the country with grants of £500.

This includes, but is not limited to, women’s refuges, foodbanks, hospices, homeless charities, social isolation groups, schools, charities supporting the elderly and local authorities.

The process is managed through Tesco's partner charity Groundwork’s website. 

Any groups that would benefit from this funding are encouraged to apply here: 

• www.tescobagsofhelp.org.uk