A ‘foodbank-on-wheels’ that comes to Salford is appealing for volunteers to help during their busiest period on the run-up to Christmas.
‘Humans MCR‘ are in desperate need of parcel packers and delivery drivers to assist with the launch of their ‘Nobody Hungry At Christmas’ appeal.
People from across Greater Manchester have already donated around 250 gifts for children, but the charity also needs an additional 200 presents for adults.
Working alongside food poverty campaigner ‘Roadside Mum‘, the charity is currently running an appeal for a toy drive for both children and adults alike, as “Adults deserve a treat too”.
“We have done some bits with Roadside Mum over the last 18 months, and she contacted us last week to say she was really cross about the direction the government were taking things in and the impact that would have on poor and vulnerable people.
She knew we had a Christmas appeal which we run every year called ‘Nobody Hungry at Christmas’, and last year we fed just under 400 people, but we want to extend that this year to 500 people to adapt to the economic landscape we are in.”
This Christmas @HumansMCR expect to feed 300 children (and 200 adults) in Greater #Manchester
Let's make sure every child has at least one toy or gift this year.
Use this wishlist to give a gift to kids in poverty in our country.
RT please?https://t.co/ksOyUBrhCh
— Louisa Britain – Roadside Mum (@RoadsideMum) October 7, 2021
And she wanted to do her bit and raise the toys for us, wanting over 300 toys for young people and 200 gifts for adults, so she asked us if she could rally her Twitter friends to have some toys donated for us. So, we set up an Amazon list and a John Lewis list for people that prefer a different shop to Amazon, and Roadside Mum set that up for us just before the weekend on Twitter.
We did a count about an hour and a half ago and we were up to 258 gifts for children which is absolutely brilliant… once the children’s gifts are boxed off we will start to look at the 200 gifts for adults that we need because we think adults deserve a treat too.”
Co-founder Lewey Hellewell stated how on their busiest period between 20th to the 23rd December they will be in desperate need of volunteers, so any help given would be greatly appreciated and can be given on an ad-hoc basis for those with a lack of time to commit.
Another way to get involved would be to give a gift to adults, either ones chosen by the charity through their Amazon and John Lewis wish list, or sending presents through the post to the charities HQ at 1150 Rochdale Road, Blackley, M9 6FQ.
Additionally, cash donations are always appreciated and can be given through their website https://humansmcr.org . Any donations received between 1st October till the 17th of December will be put solely towards funding their ‘Nobody Hungry at Christmas’ appeal.
As a result of the incredible community effort the charity put in throughout the pandemic, in which they helped to provide over 65,000 meals across Greater Manchester between March 2020 and April 2021, they have rightly been recognised for the incredible work they do.
Helping to provide food, prescriptions, offer a befriending service and a doorstep delivery service, Humans MCR was crucial to the people of Greater Manchester within their times of need.
Humans MCR has been shortlisted in the top three for the Health and Care Champion Awards, alongside two other community champions who too have gone above and beyond for their area.
The nomination is a great honour for the charity and when asked if they believed they could make it all the way to the winner’s podium, Hellewell stated how he was not sure as they were up against some “really tough competition”.
He said: “We would be really grateful if people could recognise the team of volunteers who worked tirelessly during Coronavirus, delivering nearly 65,000 meals to people across Greater Manchester- so it would be great if they were recognised for their commitment and hard work.”
Lewey asked if those within the four boroughs that they support could rally together and give them a vote. The winners will be announced by virtual ceremony on December 11th, 2021.
Have you voted for us yet?
We’d be stoked if you could – only takes a few secs 🙏https://t.co/dr1y7cEU6O pic.twitter.com/UCoyXos4YT
— HumansMCR #Foodbank #Manchester #Salford #Bury (@HumansMCR) October 10, 2021
On plans for the future, Hellewell spoke of how they are beginning “A really ambitious agenda”, starting in February 2022.
These plans will see the birth of community grocers and educational programmes schooling people on cooking skills and how to efficiently budget their money alongside the food bank.
They also plan to expand to further boroughs over the next three years to help those in need
The toy drive wish list can be accessed on https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1280DGD6G0647?ref_=wl_share
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