Switchboard receive £2,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help community grant scheme.
BAGS of Help is run in partnership with environmental charity Groundwork, and sees grants raised from the sale of plastic carrier bags awarded to thousands of local community projects every year.
Since launching in 2015, the scene has provided more than £60 million to over 18,000 local community projects.
Switchboard will be putting the £2,000 towards their helpline service to enable then to train more volunteers so that more LGBT+ people can be supported through the helpline.
Switchboard’s helpline is operated entirely by LGBT+ volunteers who provide support to communities by creating a space where people can talk confidentially and anonymously about anything that’s on their mind.
They support people with a range of questions, whether you are looking for information and support, or just need someone to talk to.
Daniel Cheesman, Switchboard’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Thank you to all those who voted for us and to Tesco and Groundwork for supporting and shortlisting us to participate in this fantastic scheme. The money will help us to support the LGBT+ communites further by enabling us to train more volunteers which will allow us to support more LGBT+ people who contact our helpline, webchat and email service.”
Alec Brown, Tesco’s Head of Community, 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. We can’t wait to see the projects come to life.”
Voting ran in stores throughout July and August with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the checkout. Three Brighton based LGBT+ charities were chosen for the months July and August, to coincide with Pride, including Allsorts Youth Project and Terrence Higgins Trust.
Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups each time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions are awarded funding.
Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to their communities.
To nominate a project or organisations, click here:
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