THE response from Daily Echo readers to a competition that will see one charity receive £2,500 has been so overwhelming that two extra good causes will now benefit too.

To mark the opening of its new store in Kinson in the New Year, Tesco is running its Helping Hand competition through the Echo.

Over the past few weeks, readers have been nominating their favourite good causes and the response was so huge that now six will benefit instead of the four initially planned.

One will receive the big prize of £2,500, while the five runners-up will get £500 each.

In all, more than 1,600 nominations were sent to the Echo for 118 different organisations.

Today, we can reveal that the six with the most votes are:

  • Homes 4 Heroes, Bournemouth
  • Lewis-Manning Hospice, Poole
  • The Bourne Academy, East Howe n Dorset Dog Rescue, Bournemouth
  • Cherry Tree Nursery, Northbourne
  • Homestart, Kinson

Round two of the voting process will begin in the New Year, starting from the day of the store’s opening, Thursday, January 15, and ending on Sunday, February 1.

Kinson store manager Trevor Henstridge said: “We’re impressed by the sheer volume of nominations that have flooded in and so have decided to increase the shortlist from four to six.

“We’ll also be increasing the prize pot to £5,000, so the five runners-up with each receive £500 and our overall winner will receive £2,500.

“I look forward to seeing people come through the doors of the new store and make their votes count to decide the winner.”

To help people make up their minds, the Echo will profile each of the six finalists over the coming weeks.

When you’ve decided, all you have to do is visit the new store in Wimborne Road and fill out a form, available at the customer service desk, nominating one of the six and put it in a ballot box.

For further information, contact Kinson’s Tesco Community Champion, Sally Teixeira, on tesco.kinson.community@gmail.com