Two great causes vying for your votes

April 29, 2018 by Leigh-on-Sea.com

Two fantastic community initiatives are going head-to-head in a bid to win a major funding boost from Tesco shoppers.

ActiveSouthend - the Borough’s Sport Partnership - is calling on local residents to back the Southend Fit and Fed project, which funds a range of physical activities and free meals in some of the most deprived parts of the Borough during the school summer holidays.

Meanwhile, Make Southend Sparkle, in partnership with Project 49, is asking for shoppers to support their very own Prittlewell Camp Conservation Project, which would see adults with learning disabilities bringing the little-known Prittlewell Camp back to its former glory through a range of environmental activities.

Tesco has teamed up with charity Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, the Tesco Bags of Help initiative. This sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.

Between 1 May and 30 June, Shoppers at Tesco stores around the Borough will be invited to take a blue token from the till when they pay for their shopping and vote in-store for the community project they wish to receive the top grant.

We’ve invited those behind both projects to make the case for why you should back their cause.

ActiveSouthend - Fit and Fed:

Fit and Fed is a project led by StreetGames, a charity set up to help change lives through physical activity in local communities. The project looks to help prevent holiday hunger across the country by giving children who live in more deprived communities healthy, nutritious meals during the school holidays – when they no longer benefit from free school meals - as well as allowing them to participate in physical activities.

The level of childhood poverty in Southend is worse than the England average with 22.1% of children under 16 living in poverty. Many of these families then struggle to keep their children occupied and properly fed during the school holidays.

Kirsty Horseman, Project Manager for Sport and Leisure at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, said: “The school holidays are a real crunch point for low-income families. Primary school children who benefit from free school breakfasts and lunches often miss meals or go hungry during the holidays, while the lack of free play schemes and sports activities impacts most on disadvantaged children.

“With your votes for Southend Fit and Fed, the Tesco Bags of Help Grant will allow ActiveSouthend to give significant support to families who struggle to feed their children and keep them occupied in worthwhile activities during the summer holidays.

“We really hope residents will rally for this important project. Don’t forget to ask for your blue token at the checkout and vote for Southend Fit and Fed to win the top prize!”

Make Southend Sparkle - Prittlewell Camp Conservation Project:

The Prittlewell Camp Conservation Project is run by Make Southend Sparkle and Project 49, a local community group that provides services for adults with learning disabilities in the Borough. The project looks to help tidy and preserve the historic Prittlewell Camp: an historic iron-age hill fort from 800 BC to 42 AD, which is an important part of the history of Southend-on-Sea.

The groups will remove the litter in the area, reinstate the pathways, whilst maintaining the integrity of the site for the flora and fauna.

Paul Jenkinson, Parks Technical Officer at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, said: “With Southend-on-Sea being a much urbanised town, we must protect and preserve the wonderful green spaces available to residents and visitors.

“Prittlewell Camp is a truly fantastic green space and an important part of the borough’s early history. Unfortunately, over the past few years it has become a magnet for fly-tipping. We, along with the wonderful folk at Project 49, are aiming to help make this important part of our history a great place to visit, promoting its use as a wildlife haven and preserving it for years to come.

“Your vote really makes a difference and we urge anyone who shops in Tesco to remember to collect your blue token, and drop it down the Make Southend Sparkle hatch!”

You can vote for the Southend Fit and Fed project or the Make Southend Sparkle Prittlewell Camp Conservation Project at one Southend Tesco Extra store and 10 Tesco Southend Express stores, at the following locations:

• Tesco Extra – Prince Avenue, Southend (SS0 OJP)

• Tesco Express – Broadway, Leigh-on-Sea (SS9 1PA)

• Tesco Express – Eastwood, Rayleigh Road (SS9 5PS)

• Tesco Express – Hamlet Court Road (SS0 7LJ)

• Tesco Express – Kursaal Southend (SS1 2ZG)

• Tesco Express – Leigh-on-Sea (SS9 2ST)

• Tesco Express – London Road, Westcliff (SS0 9PD)

• Tesco Express – Royal, Southend (SS1 1DQ)

• Tesco Express – Southchurch (SS1 2QA)

• Tesco Express – Thorpe Bay (SS1 3ES)