Lidl Glasgow Tollcross

Annual Report for 2024 We are pleased to present our Annual Report for 2024, highlighting the significant accomplishments and efforts of our organisation in supporting those in need. Food Poverty Relief Our primary focus this year was addressing food poverty. We have strengthened our partnerships within the Gorbals Area of Glasgow through our affiliation with Fareshare, enabling us to identify areas where families require assistance. As a result, we have successfully delivered food to numerous foodbanks, particularly in some of the most deprived areas. Milestone Achievements By November 2024, we achieved an impressive milestone by distributing 250,000kg of food to four main partner organisations. This included: • 4700 pickups of food from supermarket leftovers. • Providing approximately 640,000 meals to those in need. Fuel Awareness Campaign In addition to our food distribution efforts, we have initiated an awareness campaign to assist people with their fuel bills. This initiative involved web-based and in-person interactions at food banks. Purposes The organisation's purposes are: 4.1 the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill health , disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage 4.2 the prevention or relief of poverty primarily through the provision of funds and services that will alleviate those disadvantages both within scotland and abroad.

We run two projects under the banner of The Everlasting Foodbank. Our foodbank is for people to receive emergency food in times of crisis or need. We also give people clothing, toiletries and a friendly face to chat with. Alongside food we encourage people to sit with us and chat over some coffee/tea and buiscuits. Sometimes we find that we can be the only people that someone talks to that day. We have been well supported by the local community who find us to be reassuringly approachable. Up to today we have fed over 1600 people after opening for just about 4 years. The hope and aim is to be able to be a resource for the community and help people with their immediate need but also help them to recover from their current crisis situation. We have recently launched a community cafe. This helps people in need (those who would qualify to use the foodbank) with free hot food made by our team of volunteer chefs. There is encouragement of socialising between cafe users and similar to the foodbank we have people who will sit and talk with users. The cafe provides job experience for those who use the foodbank by letting them volunteer in the cafe itself. This greatly helps to move people from reliance on foodbanks to get back into work. Alongside the cafe we also provide a one-to-one drop-in centre for help and signposting.

We start providing services in the community in January 2024 with our BRAIDS ACADEMY. Many parents currently struggle to maintain their children's hair due to lack of braiding skills and this struggle adds on top of day-to-day school run. The course itself is free but candidates pay £50 to cover their mannequin and all the hair accessories needed for the course. However, we have been unsuccessful in our applications for funding but due to the need of this skills we use our pocket money to run these course until the present day. This is a unique course in the community and know we are making a difference through the testimonials we receive from candidates as well as local organisations - many parents/guardians can now braid their children's hair with Dutch/French Braids, Cornrows, boxing braids and are saving a lot of money as well as starting their own business. Please help us buy mannequins and all hair accessories. We also run a pantry called HCRC COMMUNITY ESSENTIALS for people living in Glasgow particularly in the Eastend areas. However, people from different areas are making use of our services too due to the current financial crisis. Our pantry is getting momentum each week but what we make is too little to sustain the charity shop rent, buy food, pay insurance and other charity bills. Your donation will help us continue to run our services. At the moment we run the pantry once a week on Tuesdays from 10.30am to 1.30pm. This is a soft start to help us get help and support from supermarkets and local businesses. However, we intend to operate Monday to Friday from June 2025. Surplus received from supermarkets and local businesses are suggested donation. However, if an individual decides to join the pantry membership (£5 yearly), they will be entitled to shop once a week, pay £5 which gives them up to 12 grocery points to spend on each visit. We have 3 freezers (with fish, meat, chicken, chips, frozen vegetables etc) and a fridge (with milk, juice, eggs fruits and vegetables) where members can access the essentials they need to get through the week. We also provide toiletries in addition to the goods on the shelves. At the pantry we are not only serving Scottish people as well as Asian, African and Europe. Happy Creative Recreational Centre (HCRC) also runs a clothes shop called HCRC RE- USE SHOP which is also based at the circle on the 2 Nd floor. We also operate on Tuesdays at the moment but intend to open its doors also Monday to Friday. Our heart is to help the community and so these pre-loved chothes and household items are sold in an affordable price to facilitate individuals in the community. We are also taking referrals from organisations. Coming up soon at HAPPY CREATIVE RECREATIONAL CENTRE is our tailored braids Academy programme for children, teenagers and young adults from 5th April 2025. Your donation is welcome. Thank you for your generosity. God bless you.