Burnley Tesco raises Â£45,000

Over the past 12 months, Tesco Extra in Burnley has raised over 45,000 for various charitable causes.

Spearheaded by the sterling efforts of community champion, Billie-Jean Horne, the Tesco Extra branch on Centenary Way in Burnley and their range of in-store initiatives has raised an impressive total of £46,861.03 for local charities.

Supporting Pendleside Hospice, as well as other local groups such as East Lancashire People First; Burnley Rotary Club; and Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale SCOPE, the store also donates 100 meals a day to local charities and has educated over 1,600 local children on the origins of the food they eat.

The store has also supported numerous national charities with in-store collection buckets, bag packing, and carol singing, while - alongside fundraising efforts - the team actively supports the education of children in the local area and run regular Farm to Fork workshops in store and in schools.

“The Farm to Fork initiative is going from strength to strength," said Billie-Jean. "It's very inspiring to know the effect we are having on future generations and their relationship with food.”

Billie-Jean has also been instrumental in implementing changes to these educational trails to transform them into a sensory experience, meaning they become more available to children with complex needs. (the store's sensory hours will be on every Tuesday as of March 28th from 8am to 10am.)

She added: “Our sensory educational trails have been a huge success, and it’s wonderful to be able to adapt to the needs of children in the area. We’re also now introducing quiet hours in store to provide a calming and less overwhelming experience for parents of children with specialist needs.”

Mark Thomas, Tesco corporate affairs manager for the North of England, said: “We’re immensely proud of our colleagues at our Burnley store and all the work they do for the Burnley community. Billie-Jean is a force to be reckoned with and I’d encourage local groups to get in touch with her.”

Tesco in Burnley also supports local community groups and foodbanks through the Community Food Connection scheme, which sees around 100 meals worth of food donated to beneficiaries each day.

The Bags of Help initiative has also allowed Tesco to lend financial support in the form of grants to 12 local groups, totalling £68,000 worth of donations.