M&S Glasgow Pollok

Shine your light community rebuild lives, by promoting the wellbeing of single parents and their children, to assist them with various issues that prevent and eradicate poverty. Food is presenting a big challenge to our members as they are mostly refugees and asylum seeking single parent who are deprived and can only survive from our support of additional food provision. The cost of living has further worsened their situation as their household income is too little to but them good food. Shine your light community requires food surplus donations for our members who are refugees and asylum-seeking single parents. When food surplus donation is granted to our organisation, our volunteers would pack, arrange and distribute to our disadvantaged members around Glasgow. We hope to receive food supply from M&S, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury around us. We redistribute surplus from 620 Hillpark drive and we deliver to our other members at their doorstep since they are disadvantaged to afford transport cost for collection. Our members are now over 50 single parents and they have told us during group meetings how they are deprived of quality food due to the high cost of living and their low income. We recently supported our members with food vouchers on the 11th of February. We regularly hold mental health (MH) and wellbeing workshops to discuss MH coping strategies and awareness on the symptoms of MH and how to access professional support when required. We do not charge any amount for our services. Our members receive our support freely. We were collecting food items from Lidl at Giffnock in Glasgow but we were recently stopped as they have told us to go through neighbourly to continue to receive food surplus from them. Aldi has also told us to go through neighbourly. Our members do not presently have any food support from us this year and we hope we would be supported to provide additionally food for those deprived and living in poverty in Pollokshaws are of Glasgow. The local press has not showcased our work but our distribution and photos can be found below and on our social media links (Facebook) @ https://www.facebook.com/shineyourlightcommunity/ Yes we have partnered with some local organizations like Scottish Refugee Council, African Future, Pollokshaws community hub and others.

We have been actively running a Pantry based in Greater Pollok with over 1000 member to date. The Pantry is struggling to keep up with the demand and could do with any help it can get. It means families can access food in a dignified manner as they get to choose the items that they actually want instead of getting food that is no use.

In our elderly and youth club those are participating they are mostly from disadvantage, ethnic minority people and we can also distribute these foods here. For past 15 years we are serving our community for their wellbeing and healthier lifestyle through music, dance, sports, providing healthy food and many more healthy activities. These food distribution will make their life more happy and joyful and also helps to save their money and this savings they can use for their other social activities for their wellbeing. Also, our organisation's purposes are: the advancement of the arts, heritage and culture through staging public exhibitions, giving presentation and/or performances for the public to raise awareness of the history and traditions of south indian classical music and dance the advancement of education through the teaching of the art form and style of south indian classical music and dance, raising the artistic standards of the art form and by providing educational programmes to the public.