GroceryAid commits £1 million fund for school children

GroceryAid’s School Essentials Grant is providing £1 million of support for grocery colleagues’ school-aged children this year, after securing funding from The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust.

Now in its fourth year, the fund provides a £150 non-repayable grant for every child of school age, up to a maximum of three children per eligible household, up to the fund total. This year, more than 6,660 children will benefit from the fund, an 11% increase on last year.

Grocery colleagues can apply for the School Essentials Grant on the GroceryAid website from 9am on 18 June 2024, with an extended application window of three days and a closing date of 5pm on 20 June.

Mandi Leonard, welfare director at GroceryAid, said: “We are thrilled to be able to offer more children than ever before the chance to start school with the essential items they need to have the best start to the school year.

“After listening to valuable feedback from our supporters, we are leaving applications open for three days to enable more people to apply. We want to ensure the application process is fair for shift workers and those who may not have access to a computer/phone during working hours. We will notify colleagues about the outcome of their application within six weeks.”

Successful applicants will be randomly generated from those who meet the criteria and have provided all the information requested.

Full details about the 2024 School Essentials Grant and eligibility criteria can be found here.