Tesco donates £25,000 to the RNLI through Bags of Help scheme

Tesco marked its Centenary year with two special Bags of Help funding rounds, with a huge £100,000 funding pot in East Yorkshire.

Bags of Help, run in partnership with Groundwork, sees funding awarded to thousands of local community projects every year. So far across England, Bags of Help has awarded £64million to 21,475 local projects. The Centenary Grants reached more than 30 regions, with an incredible £3,300,000 up for grabs in total.

The presentation of the cheque took place on the morning of Wednesday 26 February 2020 at Withernsea Lifeboat Station. Members of the crew were on station in full PPE, grateful to receive the cheque and to give a tour of the station.

Matthew Woodhouse, Helmsman at Withernsea Royal National Lifeboat Institution, said: 'We wouldn’t be able to continue saving lives at sea without your support in delivering this essential training. Thank you to everyone that voted for us through the Tesco Bags of Help scheme.

'Our volunteers’ lifesaving work is essential, often difficult and sometimes dangerous. That’s why we provide our crew members with first-class training, equipment, guidance and support. We spend over £1,500 per year on training for every one of our volunteers.

'Our volunteer lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,200 lives since 1824. We are also dedicated to educating people both nationally and internationally about the dangers of water’.

Bags of Help applications have opened for 2020 and customers are invited to vote for the project they wish to receive the top prize using blue tokens handed out at checkouts. Three groups will be awarded grant amounts of £2,000, £1,000 or £500 every three months.

Find out more about Bags of Help at www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.

For more information contact the Tesco Press Office on 01707 918 701

For more information regarding the RNLI, please call Amy Casbolt, Community Manager on 07827 957 086

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.