Three good causes received a welcome cash boost when community-conscious colleagues at Tesco’s Surrey stores handed out grants worth £3,000.
Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey was able to celebrate after receiving a cheque for £1,500. The money will go towards the organisation’s Living Without Barriers project, which provides counselling for children and young people with sight loss or combined sight and hearing loss, as well as their families.
Another establishment to receive funding was Surrey Search and Rescue, which was awarded £1,000 to provide warm, appropriate clothing for its volunteers.
The third good cause to be awarded funds was Walton Leigh School. It was given £500, which will go towards buying a wheelchair bike to enable pupils with complex needs to join in with cycling sessions.
The funding came from Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme, in partnership with the Groundwork charity, which supports many Surrey community projects and good causes, giving away thousands of pounds.
Lisa Fletcher, Head of Fundraising and Engagement at Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey, said: “We are very grateful to Tesco for this funding. It will help a lot of young people and their families.
“Many children and young people are struggling with deteriorating sight and are very frightened and worried about how they are going to manage in the future.
“We can help by engaging with our young people, giving them a safe environment to talk, and help them recognise the need for practical solutions to help manage their mental health. We are giving them a stronger start in life.
“We also want to give their parents the opportunity to talk about their feelings, because some of the parents need to grieve for the fact that their child has significant vision impairment, and many of the children have complex needs and other health issues as well.
“Each person will have between four and six sessions with an external counsellor.”
Claire De Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, applauded Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey’s essential work for its young people and their families.
She added: “We’re delighted that we can help groups, clubs and charities such as Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey. Stronger Starts invites our customers to use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit children and young people, and it’s so good to see the impact that the funding makes.”
Surrey shoppers can support local school and children’s groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.
