RETAIL giant Tesco is marking its 100th birthday by launching two £100,000 community grant funds in Northern Ireland.
As part of the supermarket’s anniversary celebrations, community organisations across the north are being invited to share in the grants available from a special centenary fund.
The first of two special funding rounds will concentrate on groups delivering health and wellbeing benefits, with a particular focus on groups tackling cancer, heart disease and diabetes, in line with the supermarket’s National Health Partnership.
A short-list of three organisations will be revealed and Tesco customers will be invited to vote for groups throughout July and August, casting their votes using blue tokens handed out at checkout points.
The top placed group will receive £50,000, second will receive £30,000 and third will receive £20,000.
Another two-month voting round for three more projects will launch in November, with a total of six projects sharing in the cash over the course of the year.
Brendan Guidera, Tesco’s store director in Northern Ireland, said: “We are celebrating a century of delivering great value for our customers, and there is no better way to mark this occasion than to offer 'little helps' to those making a difference across the region, starting with those projects helping to transform our health and wellbeing.
“We’re looking forward to receiving our first applications in the days ahead.”
The scheme will run in partnership with community charity Groundwork, whose national chief executive Graham Duxbury, said: “We’re excited to launch the Tesco Centenary Fund, giving community groups the opportunity to apply for funding that can make a positive, long-lasting legacy in Northern Ireland. We look forward to seeing a wide-range of innovative projects that boost the health and wellbeing of our communities spring to life.”
To nominate a project visit www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/tescocommunityscheme/faqs/Category/centenary-grant-ni
