B&Q St.Helens

It all started with newspaper deliveries - our very first phone call came through a relative of a vulnerable resident asking for help getting their daily newspapers. And so we started in the run up to the very first lockdown - This very soon became a full newspaper round! With the help of our sponsors/partners we have: •local residents/pharmacies with prescription collection/delivery •Grocery shopping •TV collection, testing and distribution to care home - enabling the residents could watch the 75 year VE Day whilst in lockdown measures •Support local care home events •Woodland Trust path clearance •WODAC Food donations and volunteers for hamper preparation •Room at the Inn - food and clothing collections (Rucksack appeal) •The Verve - starter packs with easy to follow recipes •Fundraisers for; local schools’ PFAs, Cancer Research, Alzheimer’s Association, Blood Cancer UK, local care homes’ events •Litter picking •Supported victims of the local community during the floods •Defibrillator fundraisers for community 24/7 access defibrillators and cabinets •Community events - Mothers Day, DDay80 remembrance Ongoing support to the community: •Emergency supply packs, available 24/7 (referrals from Schools, Social Services, local GPs/Medical staff etc) •Supply packs - ongoing requests •Support with new homes (Domestic violence victims/New mums), this can be as simple as collecting items on behalf of families and/or a starter supply pack. •Advocacy •Birthday/Christmas gifts for families who otherwise could not afford •Veteran support - Food hampers, support in new home, social engagement support •Community events; Mothers Day afternoon tea, Remembrance anniversaries, Remembrance Sunday refreshments •Each year we team up with our local Residents Association at Christmas to provide a 3 course meal with entertainment for the lonely and vulnerable •Flower donation and volunteer time for our ‘Friends of St Mary’s’ volunteer group - who lovingly maintain our local graveyard, where numerous soldiers are laid to rest •Save surplus food - families in need are offered first then any surplus is promptly offered to the local community to avoid waste •We also distribute surplus food to local animal rescues/Sanctuaries - apparently the chickens love overripe bananas! All our key volunteers have Food Hygiene and are DBS checked. We have first aid (including doggie first aid and mental first aid trained volunteers. To see our upcoming events, please visit our Facebook page Our future plans? Well we are always actively engaging with local authorities/services/community to identify any gaps where we can support! We operate at various locations within the Penketh community - new base announcement coming soon! ALL our team are dedicated VOLUNTEERS, who put their time and commitment into the community. We are registered with Warrington Voluntary Action and have social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We work over two locations in St Helens. The first ‘Hope House’ is a town centre building which acts as a drop in centre providing basic needs services, support, advocacy and signposting to those experiencing homelessness, those at risk of homelessness and those seeking treatment for drug and alcohol misuse. Our service users are able to access a breakfast club five mornings a week, shower facilities and fresh clothing with access to laundry. Further support is available in the form of advice, signposting and referral to specialist support to help people move forward. We also provide access to IT and a phone as well as providing a correspondence address so that those who don't have stable accommodation can engage with mainstream services. Our second location in Atherton Street, acts as home to our Training Centre and Gateway Service. Here a bespoke course is available to support people with their self-esteem and confidence building individuals' aspirations and assertiveness to achieve their goals. Learners are also invited to engage with learning IT and our work club which supports people back into work. St. Helens Foodbank is administered from this centre with one of the hubs based at the Hope Centre and our other project, Baby Basics, works in partnership with health visitors to provide practical starter packs of new and donated essential items to mums who are unable to prepare for their new arrival.

Your Local Pantry helps fight food poverty and provide sustainable food. We charge £5 weekly membership at each visit and you chose 10 items inc fresh meat , coffee, tea, cereal , other tinned items and fresh fruit and veg to help with the weekly shop. By joining you also help stop good good ending up in landfill