Paws Against Stress has received a cash boost after winning the in-store customer vote at Tesco’s Stirling store.
The funding awarded from the Tesco Stronger Starts scheme will be used to support the popular sessions at Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus throughout the academic term.
A recent ‘Santa Paws’ session was held at the Stirling Campus on Friday 12 December, and these photos show how much they are enjoyed by students and staff.
Stronger Starts provides grant awards of up to £1,500 to local community projects, with a particular focus on children and young people. Three groups in every community were shortlisted to receive grant awards and Tesco customers voted for the group they thought should take away the top award in their local Tesco store.
FVC’s Paws Against Stress initiative was one of the groups on the shortlist in the Stirling Tesco store and, after the votes were counted, came first in the selection, being awarded £1,455 towards the project. The funding will go towards supporting the much-loved Therapets charity Canine Concern ‘Paws Against Stress’ service, where therapy dogs are brought into campus.
The sessions with ‘Paws Against Stress’ are extremely popular and help to alleviate stress and anxiety, particularly in the run up to exams and other stressful life events. Funding has previously been secured through Tesco Stronger Starts to support the sessions at FVC’s Alloa Campus and this funding will support ones planned for Stirling.
David Gentles, Learning Skills and Resource Assistant said: “We were thrilled to be put forward for the in-store vote again and coming first shows the value of the project. Paws Against Stress has become an important event within the Learning Resource Centre calendar, offering students a chance to relax and de-stress during busy periods. The most recent session before Christmas ‘Santa Paws’ proved to be very popular and we have already booked in another two sessions in the New Year.”
Pauline Jackson, FVC’s Development and Fundraising Manager, said: “We have been extremely fortunate to have been shortlisted through Tesco Stronger Starts in Alloa and now Stirling and we owe a huge thank you to the Tesco customers who voted in-store. The Paws Against Stress sessions are one of the ways we help to reduce stress and anxiety and their popularity is testament to how much students and staff value these.”
Tesco’s Stronger Starts – previously known as Tesco Community Grants - has already provided over £117 million to more than 67,000 projects across Britain. This £5m Stronger Starts grant programme helps schools and children’s groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and sports equipment for after school clubs.
Greenspace Scotland is working with community charity, Groundwork to provide support to communities in Scotland.
Tony McElroy, Tesco’s Head of Communications in Scotland, said: “Tesco Stronger Starts help support local good causes but especially those projects supporting young people, those providing food, and local causes close to our colleagues’ hearts.”
Emma Halliday, Community Enabler Coordinator at Greenspace Scotland, said: “Tesco Stronger Starts continues to give local projects the boost they need to help their communities thrive. By funding services which support young people and reduce food poverty, we hope to facilitate positive change from the ground up across the UK. We are pleased to have been able to help so many local good causes over the years and look forward to seeing what community organisations can achieve in the future with the right resources”
Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities, particularly those helping to provide food and giving children the support they need for a good start in life. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online.
To find out more visit https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/stronger-starts
