It’s been a tough year for so many in our communities and for those facing the added hardship of surviving the winter without a home or regular meal or help with mental and wellbeing issues, it’s going to be tougher still.
So this year, as a business, together with other organisations in our group, we have decided to invest our corporate Christmas present fund in support for those charities and initiatives that provide vital help to the homeless in our communities, across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and which may have struggled to raise funds, because of the pandemic. This year, above all others, it felt more important and appropriate for us to offer practical and immediate assistance to our communities and those in greatest need.
Each of our eight branches have chosen a local charity that works directly with the homeless in their area, to offer direct financial aid and to collect much needed essential items for the crucial winter months.
We are donating £500.00 directly to each of the following initiatives: Amicus Trust, which provides support and accommodation for homeless individuals in Bedfordshire; King’s Arms Project, a housing project that has supported the homeless in Bedford since 1989; DENS, a charity that houses and empowers homeless people; The North Herts Sanctuary, which provides temporary accommodation; The Need Project, which fights rural poverty in central Bedfordshire; Winter Night Shelter MK, which aims to relieve poverty, distress and homelessness and Sign Posts, which supports homeless people in Luton and Dunstable.
£1,500 is also being donated to NOAH Enterprise, a charity which seeks to help out the most disadvantaged in the local community on behalf of Neville Funerals Luton and Stopsley branches, and also on behalf of Neville Funerals’ sister companies, Neville Trust, Neville Special Projects and Neville Joinery.
We are also setting up donation boxes in each branch to collect much needed supplies for these charities and for local people to be able to contribute if they can – up until Monday 14th December. The boxes will be placed in the reception areas of each branch with safety and social distancing measures in place for those that want to drop in with donations. We are looking to collect the following items: hats, gloves, scarves, new pants and socks, tins of meat or fish or vegetables and new sealed toiletries and will accept items up until 14th December.
If you would like to donate directly to these charities, further details can be found on the following websites:
www.amicustrust.org; www.kingsarmsproject.org, www.dens.org.uk; www.northhertssanctuary.org.uk; www.theneedproject.co.uk; www.winternightsheltermk.com ; www.signpostsso.org; www.noahenterprise.org