Brentwood EELS RLFC are bidding for a cash boost from the Tesco Community Grants initiative. Tesco works with community charity Groundwork to run its community funding scheme, which sees grants of up to £1,500, £1,000 and £500 awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in every community have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Brentwood EELS RLFC is one of the groups on the shortlist.

Our project is simply to grow our community Rugby League club through creating a primary section for ages 5 to 11.

Brentwood Elvers/Eels RLFC was originally established as the Brentwood Elvers in October 2004, through its two founders Phil Abbott and Tom Greenard. It was set up to service the development ladder building slowly through local primary and secondary schools and initially ran teams at Under 11 and 13 age groups.
Since its first eventful season In existence the Club has expanded and under then Club Chairman Carl Horsman had a makeover in 2014 leading to it being formally known as Brentwood RLFC. Rugby League in Essex has seen its popularity grow beyond all expectations in recent years and Brentwood now operate numerous age groups including Open Age. The Club has proven to be extremely successful and regularly sees its players selected at representative level and its teams invited to participate in tournaments both in the North of England and France. We currently have three players that have turned professional which is testament to the work Brentwood undertakes in developing Rugby League players.

Voting is open in all Tesco stores in July, August and September and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out each time they shop.
Tesco’s Community Grants scheme has already provided over £85 million to more than 36,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every three months, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Claire De Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “Tesco Community Grants help support local good causes but especially those projects supporting young people, those providing food, and local causes close to our colleagues’ hearts.”
Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “Tesco Community Grants 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 organizations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/communitygrants.

What happens next?

Please see below a list of stores taking part in the voting on our project.

6775 BRENTWOOD HANGING EXP CM13 2QG Express
2176 BRENTWOOD EXPRESS CM14 4QG Express
6793 BRENTWOOD WARLEY EXP CM14 5HB Express
3082 SHENFIELD BRENTWD EXP CM15 8JD Express
6585 SOUTH ST ROMFORD EXP RM1 1RX Express
3107 ROMFORD EXTRA RM11 1PY Extra
6235 HRNCHRCH BUTTS RD EXP RM11 2LD Express
5079 ARDLEIGH HRNCHRCH EXP RM11 2LG Express
6038 ELM PARK ROMFORD EXP RM12 4SB Express
2685 HORNCHURCH RM12 5AF Superstore
6483 RAINHAM EXP RM13 7QX Express
3086 RAINHAM ESSEX EXTRA RM13 9YZ Extra
3329 UPMINSTER EXPRESS RM14 1XL Express
6600 ROMFORD BRNTWD RD EXP RM2 5TJ Express
3120 ROMFORD GALLWS CN EXT RM3 0LL Extra
2297 COLLIER ROW METRO RM5 3NL Metro
6499 ROMFORD FAIRVIEW EXP RM7 7HH Express
3349 ROMFORD MARLBRUGH EXP RM7 8AB Express

To check the location of any of the above stores, please go to the Tesco website here: http://www.tesco.com/store-locator/uk

To vote, you will need to make a purchase within store of any value. You will receive one token per transaction and it's not necessary to purchase a carrier bag in order to receive a token.