YOUNGSTERS in poverty across Berkshire will benefit from the generosity of shoppers in Wokingham.
A local children’s charity was chosen to receive £10,000 from Tesco Wokingham as part of a celebratory Community Grant one-off funding campaign.
To raise money, customers in Tesco stores took part in a lucky dip to find specially created gold versions of its iconic blue voting token.
The total amount being given away in gold tokens was worth £1million in grants to local good causes.
First Days Children’s Charity in Wokingham was selected in recognition of its aims to reduce the long-term effect of poverty on children by equipping them with the essential items they need to be safe at home and out and about, be confident in school and have fun.
Ellie Gosling, Fundraising and Events Manager at First Days Children’s Charity, said: “We are very grateful to Tesco for this grant.
“Since we began in 2013, we have helped more than 10,000 children and distributed over 250 tonnes of donated goods.
“The Tesco funds will help us to continue our work.
“As a small charity, we know we can’t change the root cause of the situations that families find themselves in, but we can help the children who are victims of a childhood in poverty to feel more equal to their peers.
“We believe that all children deserve the same start in life, and our part of that is ensuring they have everything they need materially.”
The donation marks £100million in Tesco Community Grants being given to more than 50,000 good causes since they were launched in 2016.
Good causes that have benefited include breakfast clubs, food banks, Meals on Wheels, and playgrounds.
Other beneficiaries have been parks and green spaces, counselling and support services for young people and children’s sports teams.
With many small, often volunteer-run groups facing rising costs, support from schemes like Tesco Community Grants are vital to help them keep going.
The current cost-of-living crisis is also seeing many groups starting to offer hot meals or warm spaces in addition to their usual services.
Claire De Silva, head of communities and local media at Tesco, said: “These events were not only a really fun occasion in store, with our colleagues and customers really keen to get involved, but also an important opportunity for people to choose a local good cause to receive the £10,000 grant.
“Hopefully, this will help to make a difference to everyone they continue to support within our communities.”
For more information about Tesco Community Grants and how to apply, visit: www.tesco.com/communitygrants
For information about First Days Children’s Charity, log on to: www.firstdays.net
