Connor Naismith, MP for Crewe and Nantwich, has met with Asda and Parentkind in Parliament, to celebrate the success of Cashpot for Schools, which raised nearly £5.8m for more than 22,000 schools across the UK last year – this includes £11,016 for primary schools in Crewe and Nantwich

At a drop-in event on 28th January, Mr Naismith heard more about the scheme, the first of its kind, and was briefed on the work of Parentkind, Asda’s Community Champions, and the Asda Foundation. Cashpot for Schools was launched by Asda in response to research that found some parents are asked to give up to £138 per year to support their children’s schools, with the research also revealing the most significantly underfunded needs are school trips (64 per cent), books and learning materials (52 per cent), and sports equipment (50 per cent). Through the scheme, customers were able to donate 0.5% of the value of their shopping to a primary school of their choice – these donations were funded by Asda and distributed to schools by Parentkind.

Speaking about the drop-in, Connor Naismith MP said:

“I was pleased to be able to attend this drop-in, to celebrate the success of Cashpot for Schools. It is great that over £11,000 will go to schools in our area, for them to invest in the resources and projects they choose. Thank you to Asda and Parentkind for launching this scheme, and to those local customers who participated.”

Jason Elsom, CEO of Parentkind, said:

“The unprecedented challenges faced by schools has meant that PTAs are increasingly becoming a source of funding for vital equipment and resources, and in recent times, many PTAs have turned to helping families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis by providing the basics children need to engage with their education. We are incredibly grateful to Asda’s generosity in making Cashpot for Schools available to any state primary school wishing to boost their budgets this year.”

Asda has more than 390 dedicated Community Champions, who work with charities and groups to deliver services in their area. They support the work of Asda’s independent charity, the Asda Foundation, which supports small, grassroots groups at the heart of local communities. Grant funding is available year-round, with more detail available on their website: https://asdafoundation.org/

Parentkind are the trusted voice for parents in education and the membership association for school PTAs. As a national charity, and the network of PTA fundraisings in the UK, Parentkind exists to empower all with parental or educational responsibility to improve the life chances of children, young people and their communities.