We’re into our third month this summer without matchday collections. Whilst the funding for food is a little light, we’ve been developing our links with the local business community through our Newham Chamber of Commerce membership, to benefit those who are struggling in our local community.
For example, Holiday Inn Express at the Excel have recently had an upgrade so we approached them over the situation with their older furniture. Within a week, we had arranged four van loads of tables, chairs and sofas to the Carpenters Estate Warm Haven, and Samantha White, Manager of the Carpenters Estate Warm Haven, was delighted. She said: ‘A huge thank you for the generous donation of furniture from Holiday Inn Express.’
We managed to fill up four transit vans with sofas, tables, and chairs. These made a significant impact in providing essential furniture to families who had put their name down on our list. This act of kindness will surely make a significant difference in their lives and contribute to creating a more comfortable and functional living environment for them.
On behalf of the families who have received the furniture, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Holiday Inn Express for their generous donation. Their support and contribution have made a positive impact on the lives of those in need. Some of those houses on the Carpenters Estate are safe houses, but don’t even have curtains or mattresses for kids to sleep on. I’ve had a chat with Tom ‘Bosh’ Skinner and we’re looking at ways of working together in the immediate future.
We also attended the Newham Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference in July. The networking opportunities were incredible, giving us the chance to work with a number of local businesses. These include distributing surplus foods from the Signorelli bakery, the QE Olympic Park East Bank and the London College of Fashion.
For the last two weeks we’ve been supporting the weekly Chelmsford Rough Sleeper Support group outside the library. We’ve delivered 20+ bags of new clothes, and also soft drinks and snacks to John who operates the Streetfood van and gives out hot snacks to rough sleepers.
We’ve also offered clothing support to Sanctus in the city, and donated new clothes for them to sell and raise money at their nearly new shop across the road. Umbro continues to support us, and we’re due a further delivery of new sportswear in the next few days. Some of this donation is earmarked for Neil Taylor’s Hammers4Work group.
Recently we were at the FSA AGM at Wembley Stadium with a stall, looking to promote the national fan foodbanks network, offering a ‘how to start’ guide, and generally networking. Our club was well represented with nine members from Hammers United, WHUST, Pride of Irons and the ISC.
Through our new working arrangement with Community Food Enterprise in Silvertown, we were introduced to local community legend Brother Julian, who runs the Helping Hands Pantry. His front yard is a hive of people coming and going with visitors trying to make ends meet in difficult economic circumstances. We’ve offered him new clothes for when the need arises.
Another charity we’ve been involved with is Save the King and we were recently able to supply them with a number of new tees, baseball caps and sunscreen for the summer months. They operate around Romford and Kings Cross, delivering necessities to rough sleepers. There are a further three local community groups new to us in east London, that we will be supporting with new clothes.
As we approach the Premier League weekend kick-off, it’s encouraging to receive offers of support to collect with us pre-match. Just half an hour with a collection tin makes a difference to us. We’ve been approached by a representative of the Health Lottery, who have set aside a budget for matching our collection on a selected matchday, date to be confirmed.
This is something that they plan to do at all the fan foodbanks around the country over a number of weekends. This is going to be a time when we’ll need as many volunteers as possible. Finally, we will benefit from an Eastenders Knees Up charity night in Poplar, taking place on Saturday 10th August, with all proceeds going to Irons Supporting Foodbanks.
The venue is the Festival Inn, with acts including the Cockney Sovereign and a Dolly Parton tribute. Tickets include pie and mash, and are available on Eventbrite. We’re assured that a number of known east end ‘faces’ will be attending. Otherwise, we’re looking forward to meeting our usual foodbank friends and supporters before the Villa game from 2.30pm. It’s been a long three months.
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