"A big partnership between ourselves and Asda"

There were hiccups along the way apparently, but Silsden A.F.C succeeded in completing the refurbishment of their stadium and stands by August 14th as planned.

The ground now has a capacity for 600 spectators, with the Asda Foundation stand offering seating for 100 people. After the structure for the stand was put in the place, the committee members themselves rubbed everything down, repainted and laid flooring to make sure they finished before their deadline.

So, on Saturday 14th, the club was able to host the first football game of the season in the new stadium. Sponsorship secretary Barry Thomas is delighted with how their plans have come together: “The Asda Foundation have made it so we have started a new season with a brand new stadium – debt free. It was a fantastic day on Saturday and the sun shone brilliantly”.

Check out the gallery below for a few action shots of the game:

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£9.8 million to "change lots of young lives"

BBC Children in Need has just allocated a further £9.8 million to projects around the UK to help change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people.

The amazing energy given to fundraising for the charity that we see in Asda stores, as well as throughout the country, enables the charity to support a host of projects across the UK.

David Ramsden, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need said “The amazing generosity of people across the UK means that we have been able to award a further £9.8 million to projects that will change lots of young lives.”

You can read examples below of some of the projects that have recently been allocated money. Many of these have been allocated money as part of BBC Children in Need’s small grant programme. This programme recognises the significant and valuable work that can be done on a grant of up to £10,000 per annum.

North West: One of the newly awarded projects is Nightsafe in Blackburn, who are receiving a grant of £88,691. The grant will help improve the quality of life and aspirations of local homeless young people in Blackburn, by providing safe housing, individual support and accredited life skills training.

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Baby questions answered - in Asda stores!

In July, Tommy’s and Asda joined forces to provide information sessions for new and expectant Mums in 35 Asda stores across the country.

Qualified Tommy’s midwives visited stores to hold evening sessions relating to pregnancy and childbirth, and were on hand to answer all questions and were on hand to answer any questions that arose on the night.

The midwives found that all the Mums were appreciative of the one-to-one time, and many had a lot of questions about labour, pain relief and advice on what to eat during pregnancy.

The gallery below shows midwife Dinah Cleary giving advice to Mums in Asda at Edmonton Green.

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The Pedal Power team crosses the finish line!

Asda Chairman Andy Bond and the Pedal Power cycling team have finally finished their challenging bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

After eleven days of cycling, the team arrived at their destination in high spirits, having cycled 1,111 miles across the length of the country. They were welcomed with cheers and hugs by family, friends and a group of Asda colleagues from Elgin who travelled up to offer the team support.

Despite having to get used to cycling on a tandem bike at the last minute, Jim and Elwyn accumulated a mileage of over 1,000 miles in the eleven days – a fantastic achievement indeed. They made it to John O’Groats alongside the rest of the team, just in time to celebrate having raised over £2.2 million for Tickled Pink!

A great big thank you to the Pedal Power team for their commitment and dedication to raising such a significant amount for the Tickled Pink campaign!

If you want to catch up on the stories from the team’s end-to-end journey, visit the Pedal Power blog, where you can see videos and messages from the team on their ride.

"You work, but it's fun as well" - Asda supports the Woodland Project at Ralph Thoresby school

Children at Ralph Thoresby School and Performing Arts college College in Leeds are getting their hands dirty, helping to develop a new nature area at the back of their school. A large area of wasteland is currently being dug over and re-designed to make way for a host of new activity and nature areas.

Included in the plans are an activity slalom course for wheelchair users, an outdoor classroom, vegetable patches and flower beds and a nature walk. The school has longer-term ambitions to include animal and wildlife areas as well.

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