We are delighted to announce that Asda have very generously awarded us £29808 to help us pay for our warehouse for the next 3 years.
Gwen, Asda Leigh’s community champion, has volunteered with us from the
very start of our journey and has been side by side with us every step of the way. She doesn’t just pay it lip service either, she really gets involved in every aspect of the foodbank and in doing so has become a valuable member of our team in her own right. As well as giving her all in the foodbank she also promotes us within Asda Leigh and beyond and that is where she really comes in to her own!
She said: “I love going to the food bank. The volunteers are marvellous and they do everything they can to help people.
“It can be quite emotional talking to the people who come in, but my aim is to make them leave with a smile on their face knowing that support is out there for them. Talking always makes things better.”
We are a community project with community at our heart and there is no bigger player in that community than the supermarkets where, those who can, buy their groceries. It would be so easy for the supermarkets to just take peoples money and run but they don’t, they give back and Asda have demonstrated that time and time again with Gwen always doing everything in her power to push lots of local charities and organisations, of which, we are one. (And we are so blessed that we are)
When Gwen made us aware of Asda’s £20 million Fight Hunger Create Change programme we were just in the process of raising funds to pay for our warehouse so thought it was well worth applying for. We were very lucky to get free rent for 6 months but as it came to the end of the free period we needed to secure funding for the next 3 years. WE applied for the £29808 it will cost and, to our absolute joy and amazement, we were awarded all of the money we need!
We are so lucky that our local community are very generous and we need lots of room to store and sort all the food and toiletries we get donated. Having the warehouse is brilliant and means we can store more food and sort it much easier. Knowing it is paid for for the next 3 years is a massive boost and means we can concentrate on feeding people in crisis in our community rather than how we can store the food that the public donate.
Warren and the trustees really do appreciate the very generous donation by Asda and want to say a huge thankyou to them but the biggest thankyou has to be reserved for Gwen! She is a real asset to us and a credit to the Leigh store! Gwen you are amazing, you should be very proud of the work you do and Asda and Asda Leigh should be very proud of you! Thankyou.