Instead of sending Christmas cards this year we have donated to two very worthwhile charities, you can find out more about them below.
Hillingdon Foodbank is part of a national network of foodbanks across the UK, supported by The Trussell Trust. The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that was founded in 1997 and Hillingdon Foodbank was the first foodbank to be set up in London as a subsidiary of the Kingsborough Centre.
Non-perishable, in-date food is donated by the public at a range of places, such as schools, churches, and businesses, as well as supermarket collection points. It is collected and then sorted into emergency food parcels by volunteers, to be given to people in crisis. The food parcels supplied contain at least three days’ worth of nutritionally balanced meals for individuals and families.
Close to 3 million emergency food parcels were distributed by foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network in the past 12 months — equivalent to one parcel every 11 seconds. More than one million of these parcels were distributed for children.
You can donate to the Trussell Trust Emergency Fund appeal here: https://www.trusselltrust.org/appeal/ https://hillingdon.foodbank.org.uk/
Willen Hospice is a charity that provides specialist end-of-life care and support for adults with life-limiting illnesses in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas. The dedicated teams at Willen Hospice provide specialist care, information and advice to support patients, as well as their loved ones, at what may be the toughest time of their lives. Everything they do for their patients is personalised, to help them to deal with the physical and emotional effects of both their illness and any treatments.
Willen Hospice provide expert care and give real comfort, ease pain and reduce anxiety for patients and their loved ones. They work closely with GPs, hospitals, community nursing staff and social workers to ensure that care is co-ordinated, informed and supportive at all levels.
Willen Hospice couldn’t provide this expert care without the support of the community. Through all kinds of fundraising activity, from bucket collections to sponsored challenges abroad, the community raises millions of pounds to fill the gap left by underfunding.
In 2023/24 the cost of providing expert care and support for local people was £10.1 million. That’s around £28,000 every single day to ensure they’re always there for those who need them.
You can donate to Willen Hospice here: https://donate.willen-hospice.org.uk/cp/4f58d#!/