More than 200kg of food items have been paid for to help a thousand families in need this year, thanks to the staff at business water retailer Water Plus. It’s just one of a number of charities that have been supported – and the business say they’ll be doing more in the coming months too.
An initial donation of food items collected by staff in December 2020 were delivered ahead of Christmas. That 45.45kg of food was added to – with a larger food delivery in February 2021, after staff voted for the money that would have been spent on a Christmas party should all go to charity.
Corrine Boden, Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank Operations Manager, said: “We at Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank are extremely grateful for the generous donations that we received from Water Plus and their staff for Christmas 2020 and the additional funds that allowed us to buy even more food in February this year.
“Food crisis may be due to various reasons including a person’s job finishing, illness, getting an unexpected large bill, delay in new benefit payments, or struggling on reduced or unpredictable wages. Donations like these – and the ones we’ve also received from many other local people, means we are well placed to continue to help local people in food crisis at this challenging time, as we move through Lockdown 3 and beyond into the coming months.”
Corrine said the donation in December was the weight needed for 3 days of 3 meals a day, along with tea and snacks, to feed 7 people. February’s will provide healthy fruit desserts for 3-day nutritionally balanced emergency food packs for a whole month – feeding 1,000 families.
Andy Hughes, Chief Executive of business water retailer Water Plus, said: “Supporting our local community is really important to our great people who work for us – as well as our business too. We’re very pleased so many people were supported in their time of need with the essential items, particularly during the very cold winter months we’ve had along with the challenges people – and wider society – have seen in the last year. Our people are passionate about helping the local community and making a difference for deprived families – and there’s more ahead on what we’ll be all doing this year at Water Plus around this and helping young people into work.”
And the other charities and good causes helped are…
In the last year fundraising and supporting charities hasn’t stopped for Water Plus, as part of great teamwork across our business.
- A whopping £9,500 (including match-funding by Water Plus) was raised last year for The Macari Centre, which has three dormitories for homeless people.
- In November 2020, staff also raised £166 for Children in Need and raised over £540, along with donating food and gifts to The Gingerbread Centre, The Alice Charity and the Foodbank in Stoke-on-Trent as part of the Water Plus “Giving Back at Christmas” campaign. All of the 41 children supported through The Gingerbread Centre received at least one gift for Christmas as a result of what was donated. More than 30 teenagers, who often get forgotten at that time of year, also had a gift from Water Plus staff through The Alice Charity.
Find out more about our people and working for Water Plus at: https://www.water-plus.co.uk/about-us/careers.
More details about the charities helped:
- Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank provides three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis. They work with approximately 400 local professional organisations, who can refer people to the charity. They have 16 local centres and also work with Money Matters so that people accessing the foodbank can get advice to access better future financial security.
The charity extended their telephone and warehouse hours during the first lockdown and have also moved to an e-voucher system. Telephone enquiries are now being taken for food vouchers by CiTA Foodbank Referral Helpline 0808 208 2138.
- The Alice Charity support local families living in poverty across Stoke-on-Trent & Newcastle-Under-Lyme with a helping hand when times get tough.
- The Gingerbread Centre provides 24-hour supported accommodation for homeless parents with children from across Stoke-on-Trent.
- The Macari Centre has three dormitories for homeless people and in 2020 added 12 accommodation pods in a warehouse site in Hanley.
