Member Article

West Wales scheme supporting brain injury patients bags £4,000 Tesco grant.

Patients from across West Wales have been taking part in a woodland-based rehabilitation scheme thanks to a £4,000 grant from Tesco’s Bags of Help Scheme.

The Brain Injury and Complex Neurological Therapies Team in Hywel Dda Health Board teamed up with not-for-profit community organisation, Down to Earth, to develop an eight week woodland neuro-rehabilitation programme for patients who have sustained brain injuries.

The funding enabled 12 patients to work together in Troserch Woods, Llangennech, learning new skills in maintaining the woodland, and making the site more accessible by fitting wooden hand rails and felling some trees. Patients also worked together to prepare a fire at the top of camp and help make tea every session.

This project is different to traditional hospital based approaches to rehabilitation and helped participants to develop skills by working together and aids social integration.

Abigail Barker-Smith, Clinical Psychologist, said: “The funding from Tesco has made a tangible impact. We observed people’s confidence growing and mood improving, and they have really benefitted from sharing experiences with each other.

“Being part of the programme has helped patients bridge the gap within their community. Some have started voluntary work with Down to Earth and one patient has even started a paid job recently. It has really given patients hope for their future and has helped them realise the skills and opportunities available to them.”

Tesco teamed up with charity Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help funding initiative, which sees grants raised from carrier bag sales being awarded to thousands of local community projects every year.

Rhodri Evans, Tesco’s communications manager for Wales, comments: “The funding for this project is a great example of how Bags of Help can bring communities together and make a positive difference to people’s lives. The work that the team do to help patients is fantastic, so it’s no surprise the project was chosen by shoppers in the area to receive the £4,000 grant.

“We’re really looking forward to supporting even more great projects across Swansea Bay in the future. To date we have already supported more than 74 projects in the area, providing grants totalling more than £213,000.” Since launching in 2015, Bags of Help has awarded more than £75 million to more than 25,000 projects all over the UK.

Customers are able to vote for a Bags of Help project in store using a blue token given to them at the check-out. At the end of voting period, votes are collected and three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Funding from £1,000 to £4,000 is now available.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tesco .