Charity: Poundworld reaches £750,000 charity milestone; Street kitchen funds boosted by businessman; and more
RETAILER Poundworld has hit a significant fundraising milestone with its charity partner Marie Curie.
The Normanton-based retailer, which has close to 400 stores across the UK, has now raised a total of £768,206 for the charity over the last four years, which equates to the provision of 40 Marie Curie nurses for 12 months, to care for people living with a terminal illness and their families.
The money has been raised through a number of different initiatives, such as store staff dressing up for Halloween and Christmas, sample sales at head office, customer donations via volunteer store collections, collection tins at all till points, and through donations for daffodil pin badges as part of the charity’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal. However, the bulk of the money raised comes from the sale of plastic bags and UK’s carrier bag levy.
Gerry Gray, CEO at Poundworld, said: “To raise £750k for such a cause is a great achievement. As a result of customers purchasing a 5p carrier bag, or people donating their loose change whilst in store or at head office, we’re able to make a real tangible difference to the lives of those living with a terminal illness.
“Sadly, many of us know somebody who has suffered from a terminal illness and it is a challenging time for everybody – the work that Marie Curie does through its work in the community and its network of hospices across the UK is incredible and invaluable.”
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A LEEDS food kitchen for the homeless met its first fundraising target after a generous donation from a millionaire Derbyshire businessman.
Real Change Street Kitchen reached £1,000 target on its fundraising page following a £520 donation from Energysave UK managing director Jason Rowan.
The money will help to buy equipment including flasks, toothbrushes, bottled water, socks and sleeping bags.
Paul Todd started the Real Change scheme after finding himself one payment away from being homeless. He and a team set up a street kitchen in Leeds city square on a Sunday night to feed the homeless, with food donated by Morrisons or paid for out of the group’s own pockets.
He said: “The kitchen is a lifeline that provides peace of mind and offers some well-being. I decided to document what we do on Facebook and opened the Real Change Street Kitchen page, with weekly live videos highlighting what we do.
“Jason Rowan saw one our videos and instantly donated £520 to our Go Fund Me page meaning we hit our £1,000 target. From then on he kept in touch and thanked me for what myself and our crew are doing for vulnerable people. He was so enthusiastic about what we do and has offered to help in as many ways as possible for future kitchens, potentially around the country.”
The charity has now been able to set itself a new goal of £2,000.
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THE owner of a newly-launched health and safety consultancy firm has loaned his services free of charge to a charity based in the East Yorkshire market town where he grew up.
Matt Smith, who is based in a village near Selby, established Safe Workforce Solutions earlier in the summer and one of his first jobs was to carry out a free fire safety audit at the Shire Hall in nearby Howden, a community venue.
He said: “The Shire Hall in Howden is a charity that’s very close to my heart and it was great to be able to give something back to the community where I grew up by offering my services free of charge.”
Angela Stone, venue manager for the Shire Hall, said: “I felt somewhat daunted by the responsibility for the health and safety of a large public building, but Matt has created a clear set of priorities and action plan, with ongoing training and support. We are incredibly grateful to Matt for offering us his experience and such a professional service at no cost.”
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LEEDS housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise has presented Chapeltown Cougars rugby league under 9s with new branded hoodies.
The specially-commissioned clothing was handed over to Cougars founder and head coach Steve Walker by Unity’s chief executive Ali Akbor and director of regeneration Wayne Noteman after a training session at the Mandela Community Centre.
They were joined by Ronnie the Rhino representing the Leeds Rhinos Foundation which supports Chapeltown Cougars through the Leeds Rhinos Club Ambassadors Scheme.
The Cougars were established in 2011 with the club now open to boys and girls from five years old.
Players are drawn from the local community in Chapeltown and surrounding areas including Chapel Allerton, Moortown, Oakwood and Harehills.
Ali Akbor said: “Unity is proud to be based in Chapeltown and, when asked to assist the Cougars, were only too happy to oblige.
“There is no better way to bring young people together than through sport and, in their short history, Chapeltown Cougars have been remarkably successful in doing this.
“We are delighted to be associated with the club and have Unity’s name displayed on the smart new kit.”
