Chester FC Community Trust is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.
 

 
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.
 
Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
 
Chester FC Community Trust is one of the groups on the shortlist.
 
The grant will support the charity’s Reach Your Goal project which uses football to engage with and improve the lives of men, at risk of, or experiencing mental health problems.
 
The project combines weekly football sessions with mental fitness coaching, helping participants to increase physical activity levels, raise self-esteem and confidence, develop coping strategies and build resilience in order to achieve positive changes to their physical and mental health.
 
Jim Green, Chief Executive of Chester FC Community Trust, said: “It’s brilliant to be shortlisted for a Tesco Bags of Help grant and we hope our fans and wider community will get behind us. We’re really proud of what our mental health football programme has achieved so far and Reach Your Goal will allow us to take it to the next level and have an even greater impact on the lives of our participants.”
 
Voting is open in all Tesco stores during July and August and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.
 
Customers can vote for Chester FC Community Trust in the following stores:
 
Tesco Superstore, Frodsham Street CH1 3JS
Tesco Superstore, Broughton Shopping Park CH4 0DR
Tesco Express, Pepper Street CH1 1TN
Tesco Superstore, Sealand Road CH1 4NT
Tesco Express, Weston Grove CH2 1QL
Tesco Express, Delamere Street CH1 4DS
 
Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £52 million to more than 16,000 projects up and down the UK. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
 
Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, 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. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”
 
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.