Kettering swimming club bags £1,000 thanks to supermarket grant scheme

Kettering Amateur Swimming Club has bagged a £1,000 grant as part of Tesco s Bags of Help scheme.

The club is the latest recipient of the community scheme, run in partnership with community charity Groundwork.

They will now use the money, along with cash raised in other fundraising efforts, to purchase a fourth track start starting block of the type used in major competitions.

Head coach Jacqueline Farrow said: “Having another track start block increases our members’ exposure to the type of block used in major competition by a third.

"This award from the Tesco’s Bags of Help community grant scheme is very welcome news after a year where we have spent eight months out of the water.”

Since launching in 2015, Bags of Help has provided more than £68m to almost 30,000 local community projects across England.

With voting not currently running in stores, Tesco colleagues have worked together to decide which three local projects in their region should be awarded a grant of £1,000.

Claire de Silva, Tesco’s head of community, said: “Bags of Help contributes funds to community projects up and down the country and whilst our customers have not been able to vote in this round, we’ve been delighted by the number of colleagues who have come together to choose projects in their local areas.

"In what has been an extremely tough year, we’re looking forward to seeing these projects providing support for their communities brought to life.”

Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “Tesco community grants continue to enable local communities across England 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.”