Gleeson Homes donates to Stoke-on-Trent foodbank
Housebuilder Gleeson Homes has donated £500 to Stoke-on-Trent foodbank, as part of its commitment to support the communities in which it operates.
The foodbank, which is part of the Trussell Trust network, provides emergency food and support to local people facing challenging times. It works with 36 charities and a network of other organisations within the region to support those most in need. In addition to this, it has an ongoing partnership with Revival, a local home improvement charity, which allows patients to be discharged from hospital earlier, helping the NHS to free up bed space.
Last week, members of Gleeson’s Merseyside regional team visited the Stoke-on-Trent foodbank’s headquarters, which operates its network of 15 sites.
During the visit, the team learnt that in addition to supporting with food donations, the charity also links users to additional services such as mental health first aid, education and debt management. Foodbanks, in partnership with Money Matters, have helped wipe out over £2.5m of debt to help end the vicious cycle of no money, no food.
One in five of the UK’s population live below the poverty line, and over a third of food donated in Stoke-on-Trent goes to children. On average this year, the foodbank is supporting 1,500 people.
Foodbank’s headquarters are in Blurton, a 10 minute drive from Gleeson’s latest development called The Hawthorns which will provide 44 affordable 3 and 4 bedroom homes, 11 of which will be sold under a shared ownership scheme.
The Hawthorns, located on Anchor Road, will be launching on 3rd September 2022 and the sales team will be placing a donation box for the foodbank in their sales centre when it opens later this year.
Stephen Cosgrove, Operations Director at Gleeson Homes, commented: “Gleeson Homes is are committed to supporting our local communities. It was great to get out to Stoke-on-Trent foodbank to hear more about how it is supporting people throughout the local area. While we were thoroughly impressed by the foodbank and the work they do, we also understand that much more needs to be done and we are pleased to play a role in supporting this. We plan to continue to offer support via financial and regular food donations from our staff.”
Corrine Boden MBE, Operations Manager at Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank, said: “We are extremely grateful for this donation and that Gleeson is going to provide continued support. With recent record demand, as well as buying food we also need to cover our core operational costs which are rising: transport, storage and admin to support our 15 volunteer centres. It was great to meet the Gleeson team, who were genuinely interested in our operations and how they can help.”
Gleeson’s Community Matters programme has been implemented to ensure that the communities in which it builds also feel the benefit of new developments, with the housebuilder understanding the importance of involving local people before and during the construction of its homes, leaving a legacy once works are complete.
The programme also sees Gleeson donate to and work with local sports teams and community groups, collaborate with schools on a range of initiatives and provide jobs and apprenticeships for local people.
