Posted on Wednesday November 29, 2023
Upcycling for Anti-Poverty Charity
At Vision Linens, we have been keeping our charity work to ourselves because we don’t believe in profiting from other people’s misfortune.
However, as we head towards Winter, we feel we are doing an injustice to the charity we work with by not sharing the details of their great work and why it is important to get involved if you can.
The Brick is an anti-poverty charity that offers services to people who are at risk of, or are transitioning through homelessness, financial hardship or crisis. They aim to provide practical advice and support to everyone who finds themselves needing to rebuild their lives.
In an ever-changing world, poverty in the UK is more common than any of us would like to think and is affecting ever larger swathes of our communities, which is why The Brick in Greater Manchester is so vital.
Back in March, Gordon Brown, World Health Organisation Ambassador for Global Health Financing, in an article for the Guardian Newspaper shared some shocking poverty-related numbers:
- 271,000 Homeless people
- 400,000 Children who will sleep without a bed of their own
- 14 million people in substandard or damp housing
- 5 million households in fuel poverty
Knowing these unacceptable statistics, a number of well-known businesses including Amazon, The Textile Services Association and ourselves decided to get involved with both The Cottage Family Centre in Fife and The Brick in Wigan.
As suppliers of filled and flat bedding to hotels, with help from partners including Fishers Dry Cleaning, we have been able to source and deliver bedding packs, including baby items like mattress protectors and blankets to keep families warm.
We feel honoured to be able to use our resources to provide bedding to the Brick and we urge other companies who are able, to contribute their expertise and products. Why? Let us share what Wendy, Head of Fundraising and Partnerships at the Brick, told us of her recent experience.
“I personally delivered 1 x double duvet and 2 x single duvets and pillows to a family of 4 that we are supporting – they are existing on c.£5 per day each and are going without the basics.
I was invited into their home and was saddened to see that it was quite sparse and cold and had just basic furnishings – the children were sleeping with thin fleece blankets which was quite upsetting for me.
However, thanks to Vision Linens, they now have warm, new bedding and the parents were quite overwhelmed (I took other goods for them plus a few toys for the 2 little boys) and they asked me to please pass on my thanks to whoever is providing these items to The Brick.”
Poverty is something that could happen to any one of us. It only takes a sudden change in circumstances, an illness leaving us unable to work, a mental challenge we are unable to overcome! Poverty is simply a step away!
Fraser Donaldson, Vision’s General Manager has made several deliveries to the charity in person and says:
“We kindly ask if any of our associates, partners or customers feel they can contribute to The Brick or a homeless charity local to them, that they take action today. If you need help getting in touch with the organisation or need support with logistics and arrangements, the Vision team are happy to help by sharing their donation model and knowledge.