Techniquest Glyndŵr calls out for votes to bag a share of Tesco cash

Techniquest Glyndŵr, Wrexham’s very own Science Discovery Centre 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 5p carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region are shortlisted to receive a cash award and shoppers are being invited to vote for who they think deserves the most funding in store.

Techniquest Glyndŵr is one of the charities on the shortlist in the Wrexham area and is hoping to fundraise enough money to celebrate their 15th Anniversary in style by offering a celebration event free to the general public in the Summer holiday period.

Scot Owen, Centre Manager at Techniquest Glyndŵr said: “It’s fantastic news that we have been selected to be in the running for money from the Bags of Help scheme at Tesco. We hope that shoppers will remember us as they vote in-store so that we can have a generous share of the funding that will be made available.

“We want to use the funds to mark our 15th year of operation with an exciting celebration event which will be open to the public free of charge. The more funding we can win, the better the event can be, especially since we also want to make use of our newly acquired additional space in the Town Centre.”

“We want this celebration event to attract as many local families as possible to highlight the way we have been able to bring the excitement of science and technology to children over the years.”

“From when we opened in 2003 we have seen a steady and consistent growth in visitor numbers and engagements, from approximately 40,000 in our first 18 months to 82,655 in the last year.

Voting opened in the Tesco Extra store in Wrexham on last week and will run until 30th April. Customers will be able to cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £43 million to more than 10,000 charitable projects around the UK. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different charities every time they shop.

Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for March and April. 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: “We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between.

“We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”

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 .