Lidl Baillieston

To assist the “Homeless” and others on the pavement, or in hostels, or in the community generally, who are in need of assistance. This may be visually / verbally / writing asking for help, looking like they need assistance or simply presenting as in need of assistance. Assistance comes in the form of our 2 initiatives - the TWALK and the TDROP The TWALK, provides hot drinks, soup, other foods and warm clothing on a non-judgemental basis for those who present as needing support. And it provides a listening ear for people who find themselves living in isolation and provides information and moral support service and some signposting, to more formal and expert help, to those on the streets who seek it. Our TWALK activity roams the streets of the Glasgow City centre, looking - often in their customary places - for those in need of help. We are often approached directly on the street by those seeking help who identify us by our Hi Viz jackets. The TDROP, promotes the ethos of ‘zero waste’ by working with stores in Glasgow to ensure that any food that they have, due to be disposed of, can be used by the Project. By distributing these goods to those who present as needing support or to “Homeless” shelters., or to Community food initiatives. Our TDROP activity uses a directory we compiled and keep up to date of Hostels for the homeless as the targeted venues for our food deliveries. No charge is ever levied.  Conversely we sometimes receive donations in cash in the moment from members of the public observing us carrying out our activity.  This is used to directly fund supplies for our project. In addition we would hope to continue to participate in toy donation activities especially at Xmas, with our main focus being on a Children's Hospice. We hope also to continue to make occasional donations of "hardware" such as laptops. bikes, fridges, freezers, and dishwashers. We would hope to repeat an initiative this Xmas Eve, replicating last year, of distributing parcels (mainly food). This was organised by two of our volunteers and supported by some others. We have a storage facility rented from Safestore at Port Dundas, Glasgow, but our preparatory activity is done within the homes of the volunteers. We collect donated food from various stores - see below - in accordance with any rules that they apply. We are members of the Glasgow Community Food Network, and of the Interfaith Food Justice Network.

We are a lunch club which meets every Wednesday to provide a lunch of home made soup/filled rolls/home baking/biscuits/tea/coffee for local people. We have 77 members in age groups from mid 40s to early 90s. With a mix of able bodied people, 3 wheelchair bound, 2 registered blind. The majority of our members are fit enough to make their own way to the Club but some are housebound and we collect these people each week The Club provides company, stimulation and the ability to make new friends. As well as providing lunch, we also have entertainment each week. Some weeks this is bingo, others a quiz. We also have professional singers who come along to entertain us on a regular basis. Chair aerobics is provided around every month and this is very popular and helpful with movement for some of our members We also have chiropodist who visits every 4 or 5 weeks, which is very popular Around four times each year we have a professional troupe who come along to entertain us with a 'grown up' pantomime. We make a weekly charge of £5 to those who are able to pay, to cover the running costs and allow us to arrange outings with any surplus monies. There is no pressure for payment from those unable to pay We do not collect food from any other organisation and the Neighbourly donation is a boon to our members who very much appreciate the assistance. We have been fortunate to have some financial backing from North Lanarkshire Council since our inception. We have also over the past few years been fortunate enough to have occasional donations from local businesses. Each Christmas we have a raffle to raise additional funds and when possible, we have a Social night when tickets are sold to members of the local community to come along to see what we do. We have now been on the go for 10 years and our accounts are audited each year by a local accountancy firm Whenever we have been given a donation from local businesses, we try to ensure it is publicised in our local free community magazine, Stepps on the Level. We were fortunate to be entertained by children from one of our local primary schools just before Christmas last year. We are also at present enjoying computer tuition from local primary 7 pupils The address of the Club is The Old School Centre, St Josephs Church Hall, Cardowan Road, Glasgow G33 6AA. We identify potential new members through word of mouth from local people/ organisations who advise us of vulnerable people. We have a waiting list at present as the Hall is at capacity with our existing members. We have a facebook page - Wednesday Lunch Club - which has loads of photographs plus videos showing our members joining in the fun.

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.