Appeal launched to help charity continue services
A homeless charity has launched an appeal for help with its annual harvest campaign.
The Good Shepherd in Wolverhampton has launched the appeal to help replenish stocks for the food service for the next six months, having experienced increased demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
The demand for the service during the pandemic saw 626 different people attend for a take-out meal between April and June, and more than 7,500 hot meals and food parcels served.
Head of operations Tom Hayden said: “Traditionally, we run a large appeal for harvest, with the food and tins that are donated helping to see us through to the end of the year.
“Obviously, because of the impact of coronavirus, we’ve had to really think about how we do this differently.
“Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to reach out to churches, community groups and the public and ask for donation support.”
Mr Hayden said as the level of use of the service has increased, so had the amount of donations from the community.
Fantastic
He said the appeal was all about planning for the future for the charity to ensure it could keep supporting the people who need the services the most.
“A good harvest will help to see us to plan all the way through to next summer.
“We’ve got some fantastic links with churches and community groups in the city and they really want to help, so we just want to make sure people can donate safely.
“More and more people are suffering from the impact of coronavirus through losing their jobs and with evictions set to rise, we are predicting that more and more people will need to use our services.”
The charity is looking for donations of tinned food and non-perishable items, as well as financial donations on a one-off basis or through a regular donation.
To find out more and to make a donation, go to gsmwolverhampton.org.uk/ways-to-donate
