Northumbria Blood Bikes are delighted to announce they have bagged £4,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help community grant scheme.

Our volunteers were delighted to be invited to Tesco Durham Extra for a cheque handover with the store’s Community Champion Joanne Reay. The store has been extremely supportive of our charity over the past few years and this money will enable us to purchase a new Blood Bike.

Kirsty Lawrence, Publicity Officer for Northumbria Blood Bikes, said: “We would like to thank not only Tesco and the store for this funding but the thousands of customers who chose to support us with their blue tokens. Without the support of local communities we would not be able to continue to make a difference to the lives of those living in the North East. We look forward coming back to the store to show them our new bike in the coming months.”

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.

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: 

“Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down the UK to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.”