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 £43 million to over 10,000 local community projects.
Bryngarw Country Park is managed by Awen Cultural Trust on behalf of Bridgend County Borough Council. Awen is a charitable organisation with objectives to enhance cultural opportunities in Bridgend and the wider region.
Chief Executive Richard Hughes said:
“We are fortunate that Bryngarw benefits from an extremely active and dedicated group of volunteers who really care about the park and making it an even more attractive place to spend time. They play a vital role in helping to maintain the park’s natural environment for the wildlife and the 200,000 people who visit each year. We are delighted that the Volunteer Group has successfully been awarded another grant from Tesco, and we look forward to working with them and our Rangers to bring this latest project to life.”
Leigh Forman, Secretary of the volunteer group at Bryngarw Park explained:
“A previous successful bid to Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme in 2016/17 allowed us to transform two underused and undervalued areas of the park. This funding will enable us to complete this amazing work by creating a beautiful, rustic boundary fence. The apple pressing equipment will allow us to hold engaging, annual seasonal events here for the local community to engage with and help get the most from these transformed areas.”
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 November and December 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.”
Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund 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.
