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Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is bidding to bag a cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative. Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of up to £4,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects. Three groups in every Tesco region 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. Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is one of the groups on the shortlist, and is raising funds towards QNew, an exciting programme of building improvements which will allow the Theatre to make high quality theatre in developed spaces. The funds will contribute towards supporting a number of exciting projects throughout 2019. If all the £1million required is raised, these will include:

• Equipping a new dedicated rehearsal facility on site for the first time in the Theatre’s history
• Dedicating a bespoke new space for the Theatre’s expanding range of learning and participatory work with the local community
• Creating a special room for local and regional artists to try out new ideas
• Building a new look ground floor Bar to complement the busy Café
• Making front of house and backstage much more accessible to D/deaf and disabled people
• Replacing outdated equipment so that it’s cheaper and safer to run
• Installing better air conditioning in the foyer so everyone can be comfortable all year round
• Ensuring the roof and exterior of the Theatre are weather proofed for the future

Voting is now open in Tesco stores across Hornchurch, Elm Park, Romford, Rainham, Brentwood, Collier Row, Cranham and Shenfield until Thursday 28 February (The full list of branches can be found at the end of this article).Customers can cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop. Tom Lowe, Relationships Officer at the Queen’s Theatre says, ‘It’s an exciting time for the Theatre and this grant would go a long way in making the Theatre much more accessible for wheelchair users, parents and children and those who enjoy our dementia and relaxed performances. We now need your help to make it happen. Please ask for a token and consider voting for us!’ Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding. Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said: ‘Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.’ Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: ‘Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.’ For more information about QNew click here. Tesco Branches participating:  Hornchurch Ardleigh Green Road -  Express - RM11 2LG Airfield Way - Superstore - RM12 5AF Butts Green Road - Express - RM11 2LD Elm Park Elm Park Avenue - Express - RM12 4SB Rainham Viking Way - Tesco Extra - RM13 9YZ Rainham Road - Express - RM13 7QX Romford Brentwood Road - Express - RM2 5TJ Fairview Parade/Mawney Road - Express - RM7 7HH Gallows Corner - Tesco Extra - RM3 0LL Marlborough Road/Mawney Road - Express - RM7 8AB Roneo Corner- Tesco Extra - RM11 1PY South Street – Express - RM1 1RX Collier Row Collier Row Lane - Tesco Metro - RM5 3NL Cranham Front Lane - Express - RM14 1XL Brentwood Hanging Hill Lane - Express - CM13 2QG Warley Hill - Express - CM14 5HB London Road - Express - CM14 4QG Shenfield Hutton Road - Tesco Express - CM15 8JD