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Afrikindness is delighted to announce that our “Nourish and Empower” project has been awarded a Tesco Stronger Starts grant of £500, following the success of our community vote where our project came third. Customers and communities across selected stores in Leeds voted for Afrikindness — thank you all for your support and for voting!
We are truly grateful to everyone who voted for us and to Tesco for supporting our mission.
The Nourish and Empower project is focused on providing food vouchers to parents who rely on food banks, particularly during the summer holidays when food banks are often closed, and on equipping families with much-needed digital skills training to reduce digital exclusion.
Claire de Silva, Tesco UK Head of Communities and Local Media, said: “Helping schools and children’s groups access the food and resources they need is vitally important in getting children a stronger start in life. Children with enough food have more energy, better concentration, and ultimately achieve more too.”
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said: “As a community charity, we have seen first-hand how schools and other groups supporting young people have been playing a much bigger role in ensuring children are getting a healthy start to the day and getting access to spaces and services to support physical activity and mental health. Family budgets are tight and school budgets are tight, but it’s so important that children stay fed, fit and focused, so we’re delighted to be able to prioritise these activities alongside Tesco with the Stronger Starts programme.”
Afrikindness Making an Impact
We were proud to use this grant award during our recent Parent Conference in Leeds, where families came together for an informal and engaging day of learning, connection, and empowerment.
- Food Vouchers: 9 families, many of whom depend on food banks, each received a £15 Tesco Healthy Start voucher. These vouchers go a long way in helping families put food on the table. The remaining 6 families will receive their vouchers at our next digital community workshop in Leeds.
- Digital Skills Workshop: A dedicated session supported by 100% Digital Leeds gave the 9 families hands-on training using iPads generously loaned by Leeds Central Library. Parents learned to access online resources and navigate everyday digital tasks. This workshop highlighted a critical need: many parents had little or no prior digital experience and required patient, step-by-step support. We also identified language barriers, underscoring the importance of offering tiered digital inclusion workshops in the future:
- Beginners: Families with no prior digital experience.
- Basic knowledge: Families needing support with everyday tasks.
- Advanced/Skills: Families needing training on privacy, safety, and navigating digital platforms.
This experience has inspired us to continue running digital workshops with all 15 families, ensuring no one is left behind.
- Healthy Eating Awareness: Parents also joined an awareness session on healthy eating habits, reinforcing the importance of balanced nutrition for children’s growth and well-being.
- Raffle Draw: Thanks to GIPSIL, two families won brand-new laptops in our raffle draw, which was open to parents who completed our Digital Inclusion Survey. These laptops will help reduce digital inequality at home, and Afrikindness will continue to support these families — training both the young people and their parents to use digital tools and connecting them to our GCSEPod Supplementary Education Programme.
Looking Ahead
The £500 Tesco grant has not only supported families with essential food vouchers but has also kickstarted our digital inclusion workshops, opening the door to long-term digital empowerment for families who need it most.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Tesco, Leeds Central Library, 100% Digital Leeds, and GIPSIL for their support in making this possible. Most importantly, thank you to our community for voting for Afrikindness — together, we are nourishing families, bridging digital gaps, and building brighter futures.
