West Bromwich and Bearwood Specsavers providing food parcels for needy

Specsavers are supporting the Abrahamic Foundation to provide a safe, warm space at their community centre where residents can come to beat the cold and soaring bills.

The Foundation's Smethwick High Street centre will also provide hot drinks and snacks, board games and television free-of-charge.

The stores at New Square Shopping Centre in West Bromwich and Bearwood Road in Smethwick are collecting donations of non-perishable food items and basic essentials to make up parcels for people in the local community.

Majid Jawaid, from Specsavers, said: "We wanted to do something to help those less fortunate than ourselves. We have long been supporters of the Abrahamic Foundation and really admire the work they do.

"When we heard about the warm space initiative, it seemed like something that we could support, alongside the food parcels collections."

He added: "Customers can bring in donations to our store which staff members will then make up into food parcels to be distributed by the Foundation. It’s a chance for people in the community to really make a difference during these challenging times."

The Abrahamic Foundation is a not-for-profit Muslim organisation that serves the community through providing a range of educational social and religious provisions. It is an inclusive organisation and endeavours to serve the community regardless of colour, race or ideological orientation.

The Foundation’s centre manager Shabnam Mughal said: "We are extremely grateful to Majid and the Specsavers West Bromwich and Bearwood teams for their continued support of our charity and for working with us to create this initiative.

"We hope it will provide some respite for people in our community who are struggling with rising bills and keeping warm this winter."