TESCO has announced that 10,000 community projects have now been funded through its Bags of Help scheme, including 21 in Launceston and 13 in Callington.

Run in partnership with environmental charity Groundwork, Bags of Help uses the money raised from carrier bag sales to fund local projects. No profit is made on the sale of these bags and Tesco has now donated over £43-million to fund great causes across England, Scotland and Wales through the programme, which began in 2015.

Through Bags of Help, Tesco customers vote in-store for their preferred local project, using the blue token given to them at the checkout. Every two months Tesco hands out grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000, in each of its 565 regions including to organisations in the Launceston area, with customers at the town store voting for projects to receive a total of £117,000.

Twenty-one projects in the Launceston area — totalling £80.689.82, which include the likes of Lifton School (£4,000), Launceston Carnival (£2,000) and St Stephen’s Pre-School (£1,000) have all received sums in the latest round of voting while 13 projects in the Callington area have also benefited to the total of £33,338.21.

Tesco CEO for the UK and ROI, Matt Davies, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be part of the communities we serve and support local causes. As Bags of Help is funded by the sale of carrier bags, it’s only right that our customers decide which local projects to fund, and I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve now donated £43-million to support 10,000 good causes — from restoring scout huts to buying kids’ football kits.

“This is a huge achievement and it’s fantastic to see Bags of Help making a big difference to local communities across the country.”

Chief executive of Groundwork UK, Graham Duxbury, said: “We are delighted that Bags of Help has reached the impressive milestone of funding 10,000 projects that have helped communities in England, Scotland and Wales.

“Since the initiative started we have seen some amazing projects come to fruition, and it’s great to know the impressive scale that the programme has on reaching communities that need extra funds to make where they live a better place to be.

“It’s exciting to know that this positive impact can continue and we look forward to seeing even more local communities apply for grants, and creating innovative projects that help local people and places.”

Bags of Help is one of the ways Tesco is committed to making a difference to the local issues that matter to its customers and colleagues. Other initiatives include donating food to those in need through local charities, and their network of 500 in-store ‘Community Champions’ working with the community.

Grants are 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