Local charity Headway is calling out for votes to get a share of Tesco’s Stronger Starts fund.
This £5m Stronger Starts grant programme, delivered in partnership with Groundwork UK, helps schools, children’s groups and other organisations provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support physical health and mental wellbeing.
Stronger Starts provides grant awards of up to £1,500 to local community projects, and while there is a particular focus on children and young people, Headway, as a previous recipient of a Tesco Community Grant, was also invited to apply.
Three groups in every community shortlisted will receive a Stronger Starts grant, and Tesco customers can vote for the group they think should take away the top award in their local Tesco store.
Headway Birmingham & Solihull is one of the groups on the shortlist in the Rednal and Rubery area, via the Tesco store in New Road, Rubery (B45 9JL).
The charity is planning to run some vital sessions for its brain injured clients around cooking healthily and safely, and so would use the Stronger Starts grant to help acquire ingredients and the specialist equipment needed for those with brain injury to participate in these cookery sessions.
Julie Wedgbury, Communications & Fundraising Manager at Headway Birmingham & Solihull, said: “We run Daily Living Skills sessions across our three brain injury hubs, designed to help those with brain injury re-learn lost skills and look after themselves better.
Cookery forms part of this, with the focus on meal planning, shopping and cooking, to ensure our clients understand the importance of kitchen hygiene and safe food storage and can acquire the skills to cook themselves a healthy meal.”
She confirmed that any money received through the Tesco Stronger Starts scheme would be used to buy ingredients and some much-needed kitchen equipment, such as specially adapted knives, to enable greater participation in cookery sessions held at the charity’s Leighton House brain injury hub in Chapel Rise, Rednal.
“We are grateful to Tesco for giving this opportunity to raise greater awareness about the work of our charity and a chance to raise funds towards these vital sessions. They not only help build skills and confidence, but also ensure clients eat a freshly-prepared nutritious meal on a regular basis, boosting health and wellbeing,” added Julie.
“Thank you to Tesco and to everyone who uses their blue token to vote for us in-store!”
Voting opens in the first week of April 2024 until the end of June 2024, and customers can cast their vote using a blue token given to them at the check-out each time they shop.
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