Press Releases

The supermarket teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative, which saw grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects.

Eight million shoppers voted in stores up and down the country. And it can now be revealed the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon has been awarded £10,000.

The results have been announced and we will now begin work on bringing our project to life.

The money will be used to clear a disused part of the roman garden and this will be planted with flowers and shrubs similar to what the Romans grew in Britain thousands of years ago. New Roman style picnic areas with be provided for visitors including the 20,000 school children who visit the Museum each year.

Dai Price, Museum Manager, said, “We’re delighted to receive this grant from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative and a huge thank you very much to all the Tesco customers who helped make it happen.

“With the help of community groups and volunteers who we will work with, the grant will enable us to transform a space of undeveloped garden. We hope to make it an attractive and useful space which reflects the affection and pride that local people have for this Museum.”

Caroline Silke, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and the feedback has been brilliant.

“We can’t wait to see the money being put to use bringing these projects to life.

“Nominations for the next round of the initiative will open in April and we look forward to helping a further round of groups and projects bag their share of the bag charge fund.”

Voting ran in store from 27 February until 6 March – with customers choosing which group they’d like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out in store.

Tesco estimated that around eight million votes were cast in stores across the UK.

Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “We have been delighted to have been involved in the Bags of Help project.

“It has been wonderful to follow the projects through the application process to the final announcement.

“This is money which will go directly back into the communities up and down the country creating places to meet people, be active, play or simply relax. This initiative is really putting something back into the local environment, transforming greenspaces and helping the community at a grass-roots level.”

Nominations and applications for the next round of Bags of Help funding will open on April 18. As well as applying direct, suggestions for projects can also be nominated by people living locally.

Ends

For further information please contact:

Communications Officer Lleucu Cooke on 029 2057 3175 or Lleucu.cooke@museumwales.ac.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• 1170 organisations in from each of Tesco’s 390 regions up and down the UK received a share of the Bags of Help fund.
• The initiative is supported by money from the five pence charge levied on single-use carrier bags.
• Over 4,500 groups up and down the country applied for grants from the scheme. These were whittled down to three in each of Tesco’s regions.
• For more information please visit: http://www.tesco.com/carrier-bags/