Discount Dragon partners with Gordon Brown’s Multibank charity initiative
Leigh-based Huddled Group is distributing goods from its excess stock to provide essential everyday items to people experiencing poverty.
The AIM listed e-commerce business, founded by Lancaster-born entrepreneur Martin Higginson, said that the new partnership with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Multibank initiative has seen 1.5 million products reaching 150,000 beneficiaries across Fife, Wigan, and Swansea, with a new site also established in Greenford, West London, in July 2024.
Multibank was established by Gordon Brown in late 2022 to address the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on UK households by repurposing surplus products for public good.
As part of the partnership, Huddled will work with its suppliers to source excess stock, either at vastly reduced prices, or occasionally for free. So far, Discount Dragon has distributed over 500,000 toothbrushes, more than 40,000 nappies and 20,000 bars of soap to some of those most in need across the UK. Ahead of the opening of the Greenford site, Discount Dragon were pleased to also donate free of charge, 6,500 boxes of Nestle Baby Rice, with a retail value exceeding £30,000.
Martin Higginson, CEO of Huddled Group, said: ”We are very proud to partner with the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his mission to create lasting positive impact for disadvantaged communities around the UK. We are committed to working with the Multibank’s charities to alleviate poverty and we are pleased to do so in a manner that allows us to continue on our mission to reduce waste in the FMCG supply chain. We understand the issues faced by families today and will continue to be a force for good, helping those facing the greatest challenges.”
Gordon Brown, founder of The Multibank said: “Given the scale of the poverty crisis facing families in Britain, we are very grateful to Huddled for the support they have already given to Multibanks and their promise to continue to support in the future.”
Keely Dalfen, CEO of anti-poverty charity The Brick, participating in Wigan’s Multibank said: “Too many people in our local community are experiencing poverty and unable to afford the basic essentials so many of us take for granted. The demand on our services in the last two years has been unprecedented. Every day we see the amazing resilience of the people we support who are experiencing tough times, but the triple threat of a cost-of-living crisis, social care budget cuts and economic recession continues to make their lives increasingly hard. This partnership with Huddled will make a real difference to families experiencing difficult times, facing the impossible decision to eat, heat or keep clean. Thank you for their support which will ensure that the help is here to those who need it most.
‘Brick by Brick’ is an extension of the ‘multibank’ model first launched in Fife, Scotland as ‘The Big House’ in 2022. It was led by Amazon, Gordon Brown and local charity The Cottage Family Centre, which has now supported 50,000 families in Fife, Edinburgh and the Lothians with more than 500,000 products donated.
Photo credit should read: James Speakman/PA Wire. the launch of the ‘Brick-by-Brick’ community donations hub in Wigan, a new charity programme supported by Amazon and local charity The Brick, which will donate essential goods to more than 50,000 families in in Wigan, Greater Manchester, this year. Picture date: Wednesday March 22, 2023.
