Young LGBTQ+ people across Sussex are celebrating after a leading Brighton charity received a surprise £10,000 from Tesco.
The funding was presented to the Allsorts Youth Project team because their award took the total amount given away by Tesco’s Community Grants scheme past the £100million mark.
When the Allsorts Youth Project team turned up to receive the funds, they thought they were being given £500 from Tesco’s Community Grants scheme, but were instead presented with a £10,000 cheque.
Allsorts Youth Project was selected in recognition of its aims to connect and support LGBTQ+ and exploring children, young people and their families through youth work, as well as challenging exclusion, prejudice and discrimination in all areas of their lives.
Katie Vincent, CEO at Allsorts Youth Project, said: “We are so grateful to Tesco for this grant. It was a total surprise. When we were told it was for £10,000, we were totally taken aback.
“Originally, the money was going towards our participation in the Brighton & Hove Pride Parade so that young people could enjoy being at the centre of the celebrations with their friends from the safety of the Allsorts bus. With £10,000, we can fund parts of our participation in Pride events across Sussex.
“The generous grant from Tesco will also support us to develop a new counselling offer for LGBTQ+ young people in urgent need of support with their mental health. We really couldn’t be more grateful.”
Community groups across the country were chosen to receive funds as part of Tesco’s celebratory Golden Grant one-off funding campaign. The total amount being given away in gold tokens was worth £1million in grants to the good causes.
Allsorts Youth Project’s funding marks £100million in Tesco Community Grants being given to more than 50,000 projects since they were launched in 2016. Good causes that have benefited include breakfast clubs, food banks, Meals on Wheels, playgrounds and green spaces, parks and green spaces, counselling and support services for young people and children’s sports teams.
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 provide support within our communities.”
For more info on Allsorts Youth Project, CLICK HERE