Tesco Bags of Help set up a new short-term £2m fund to support local communities across the UK.

In Scotland, 340 community groups have been awarded £170,000 towards their COVID-19 work and more grants are being awarded. Each group is receiving £500 to to adapt their operations to the COVID crisis in terms of increased demand, disruption of delivery and/or managing new ways to deliver their services. Many organisations have applied for activity packs to be delivered to members’ homes and several include growing packs, flower seeds and outdoor play equipment for both adults and children.

Projects funded include:

Mayfield & Easthouses Youth 2000 Project near Dalkeith organised a D-DAY drop-off to 50-60 of the young people/families that have been engaging online over the past 4 weeks. The Y2K packs Include sunflower seeds and positive mental health tips/ideas with a nice note to the young people and encouragement for activities that the family can engage with. 

Leadhills Primary School Parent Council, Biggar have put together a resource kit, delivered by volunteers to each pupil.  Their kits contain a frisbee, skipping rope, football and seed kit.

Lanark Community Development Trust applied for the £500 to create a virtual 'Flowershow' and to send DVDs and photo books to local care homes to brighten the days of residents in isolation. The Flowershow will feature artwork and photographs from the local community. The Development Trust run Castlebank Horticultural Centre. Although closed to the public, they have created a fabulous variety of online gardening resources, running kids competitions and sharing daily 'green' photographs. 

Friends of the Den in Turriff are using the funds to encourage local children to plant seeds & bulbs safely around the Park whilst on daily exercise.

Find out more about applying to the Fund here