£290k boost for homelessness charities

Homeless people across the area will benefit from an extra £290,000 worth of support thanks to a three-month fundraising campaign by Lincolnshire Co-op.

From December to February, 14 organisations tackling homelessness were Lincolnshire Co-op’s chosen Community Champions. Every time a member shopped in a Lincolnshire Co-op outlet using their dividend card, a donation was made to those good causes.

Proceeds from the carrier bag charge and staff fundraising – such as the £1,000 collected by brave colleagues taking part in sponsored sleep outs in Boston and Lincoln – were added, bringing the total raised to £147,534.

Donations of £143,000 worth of food and groceries were also made to many of the charities, including 200 Christmas turkeys.

Shoppers contributed 97 boxes of toiletries through collection points at Lincolnshire Co-op’s pharmacies and gifted Christmas presents through the Society’s travel branches. These were split between many of the good causes.

Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Engagement Manager Sam Turner said: “We have been blown away by the generosity of our members, customers and colleagues. Together, we have been able to offer these groups a huge amount of support – both financial and practical.

“The 14 groups which have benefitted are doing incredible work in our area with some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. We’re so pleased that together we’ve been able to contribute.”

Charity P3 - People Potential Possibilities helps rough sleepers throughout Lincolnshire and also offers a support service to people in accommodation who face potential housing issues. It will benefit from £42,998.

Operations Manager Jonny Goldsmith said: “We’re living and working in challenging times where the needs of our clients and the demands placed upon our services are greater than ever. Whilst we don’t rely on donations to fund the work that we do, we are truly grateful to Lincolnshire Co-op and its members for this incredible act of generosity. It will enable us to increase our current service provision.

“We just can’t express enough thanks to Lincolnshire Co-op for its support in raising awareness of many of the issues faced by our clients and the support services that we provide.

“We cover such a vast area that we rely upon the public to tell us if they see someone rough sleeping - our freephone number is 0808 281 0280 and we’d encourage everyone to call it if they see someone who needs our help.”

Each of Lincolnshire Co-op’s 270,000 members is linked to Community Champions near to where they live so the £147,534 raised has been split between the different groups:

• P3 – People, Potential, Possibilities. Lincolnshire-wide: £42,998.
• Framework. Lincoln, Boston, Spalding, Holbeach, Sleaford and Newark: £36,229.
• The Nomad Trust. Lincoln area. £28,700.
• Harbour Place. Grimsby area. £9,450.
• Axiom Homeless Action. Gainsborough and Market Rasen area. £7,715.
• Centrepoint Outreach, Boston area. £5,779.
• Newark Emmaus Trust. £6,043.
• Salvation Army, Skegness, East Lindsey area. £5,513.
• The Forge Project, Scunthorpe. £3,870.
• Over £1,280 was also split between Hope Community Services in Worksop, Grantham Poverty Concern, The Purfleet Trust in Kings Lynn, Foundation in Scarborough and Doorstep in Hull.