Put Your Unwanted Christmas Gifts or Pre-Loved Items to Good
Use
We sometimes
get those well intended gifts over Christmas that end up in the back of a
cupboard or hidden away in a drawer, but this year don’t hide them away, let us
put them to good use and support the homeless in Wolverhampton.
Enjoy Wolverhampton
BID (Business Improvement District) in partnership with City of Wolverhampton Council
are asking you to donate any unwanted Christmas gifts or ‘preloved’ clothes,
handbags etc in a number of designated wheelie bins located at Civic Centre,
Mander Centre, Wulfrun Centre and University of Wolverhampton between Monday 13
January and Wednesday 12 February. Look out for the bins in the ‘Alternative
Giving CIO' brand.
Your donated
items will then put up for sale in a pop-up shop or market stall in February half
term week 2020 with 100 per cent of the money raised going directly to those
Wolverhampton charities and agencies that provide long-term help and support to
Wolverhampton’s homeless and vulnerable.
This is a great
way of donating unwanted gifts or preloved items as a gesture of good will and
provides support and funding to local charities and agencies, getting people
off the streets and into accommodation rather than giving directly to someone rough
sleeping on the city centre streets.
To date via 19 cash donation points
across the city centre and through business support we have raised an
impressive £19,000 which has gone directly to P3 Navigator, St Georges Hub and The
Wolverhampton Street Pastors.
Cherry Shine, BID Director, said: “Most recently £4,000
of the donated funds has been granted to St Georges Hub and P3 Navigator to
provide emergency accommodation, starter packs for people that have been housed
and has funded support for people with complex needs, making sure our agencies
can continue their comprehensive advice and support.
“During November 2018 we raised over £600 from donated
pre-loved items and unwanted gifts and we hope to exceed this in 2020. Supporting
the homeless and vulnerable individuals with the right support is fundamental
to this initiative.”
Wolverhampton BID are so grateful for the communities
continued support to Alternative Giving.
Councillor
Peter Bilson, City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member
for City Assets and Housing, added: “The best way to help people positively
change their lives is by homeless organisations and the public
working together - and this pop-up shop is another example of that.
“The three small
charities involved in the Alternative Giving Campaign do a tremendous job and I
would urge everyone to donate any suitable unwanted items and help make a
difference.
“All money
given by kind-hearted Wolverhampton residents through the Alternative Giving
Campaign is handed to these three charities to support the work they are doing
to improve the current circumstances of the homeless and vulnerable by offering
them accommodation, assistance and advice.”
For the
location of the Alternative Giving wheelie bins where you can donate pre-loved
items of unwanted Christmas gifts, plus the locations of our 19 city centre
charity donation points, and all the information about the scheme visit www.wolverhamptonchange.co.uk.
For further information, please contact:
Cherry Shine or Lucy Armstrong
Contact details – 01902 710903 – Available Mon – Fri 9am to 5.30pm
Email – cherry@wolverhamptonbid.co.uk or lucy@wolverhamptonbid.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Enjoy
Wolverhampton BID is the City Centre Business Improvement District Company - a
business led organisation, funded by over 600 city centre businesses to provide
improvements, events, marketing and a full programme of activities to enhance
the city centre. Wolverhampton BID formed the Alternative Giving Campaign to
support homeless individuals in the city centre to find long term support and
accommodation. Visit wolverhamptonchange.co.uk for information relating to this
article or for full information on the range of other services provided by the
BID visit enjoywolverhampton.com/bid or contact the BID team on 01902 710903.
P3 provides a
community drop-in centre, or ‘Navigator’, which is open to anyone who needs
advice or guidance, be that about their tenancy or housing situation,
homelessness relationship issues, or if they simply need support to access
other services. To find out more: https://www.p3charity.org/services/wolverhampton-navigator
St George’s HUB
provide a range of services for vulnerable and socially excluded people, with a
special focus on homelessness. Its unique service operates independently
for the resettlement and support of people who were, are or risk being
homeless. To find out more: http://www.st-georges-house.org.uk/
Street Pastors
is a church organisation that sends out volunteers to patrol the city on Friday
nights and the last Saturday of each month. They distribute water, flip flops,
space blankets - but most importantly help the homeless. To find out more: https://streetpastors.org/locations/wolverhampton/
