Quiet Connections is calling out for votes to get Bags of Help from Tesco!

We’re bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects. Quiet Connections is one of three groups shortlisted to receive the cash award at Tesco Camborne throughout March and April.

Social anxiety is the third most common mental health problem, with around 1 in 10 people experiencing generalised social anxiety -that’s around 55,000 adults in Cornwall! This impacts on education; employment; career progression; friendships and relationships; with self-harm and suicide ideation affecting a large number of people who feel this way. We’ve explained the effects of feeling socially anxious in a recent post. It’s a hidden problem and people feel like they’re alone with it. They believe they won’t be understood, and sometimes that’s the case – it can be tricky for some people to understand why someone is struggling with something that they find so easy to do themselves.

Every time we’re mentioned in the news, we’re flooded with messages like this. People feeling grateful that someone is talking about it; suddenly realising they’re not alone after all; and stories of how people have reached out for help and been met with closed doors or judgement that’s led them to choose to keep quiet about their challenges ever since.

To meet the demand we’re seeing for support, we must develop the skills of our team so we have more people to provide the support that’s needed in the community people. This award will help us achieve this. We’re already seeing amazing changes in the people we’re working with through our Connect, Stretch and Grow approach and £4000 will see us double our impact.

We’re excited about being able to help more people as we develop our team! This will mean we can run more groups, coach more people, and expand our reach further across Cornwall (and perhaps even beyond!)

Voting is open in Tesco Camborne store throughout March and April. Please cast your vote using the blue token given to you at the check-out in store each time you shop. Sometimes they forget to give you a token, so just ask! Thanks for your support! 🙂