News

Big hearted Christine collects essential items for Foodbank

3rd July 2016

Big hearted Christine Rennard has been inundated with supplies after offering to gather essential items for a foodbank close to the Wilton International site in the UK.

Instead of gathering items of food, charitable Christine, who is Invoice Resolution and Cost Controller within the Finance team at Sembcorp Utilities UK, recognised that users of foodbanks often lack toiletries as well as basic food items.

After an appeal to colleagues she has now gathered hundreds of items of men’s and ladies toiletries – from soaps, shampoos and toothpaste to deodorants and personal hygiene products – ready for distribution to the needy.

Christine said: “I was inspired by an idea I’d read about that originated in Australia where ladies donate handbags full of such products. This part of the country has suffered more job losses than most recently and it’s important for those in work to help those who aren’t and are often in great need.”

The Redcar Area Foodbank, run in conjunction with local churches and organisations, operates from Dormanstown, a district immediately next to the Wilton site. It has 7 distribution centres across the borough. Users are referred to the foodbank by doctors, social services teams and other agencies.

Foodbank Manager Helen Hedges said: “Without the goodness of people like Christine we wouldn’t be able to operate.”

In just 3 years, the Redcar unit has provided emergency food relief on more than 12,000 occasions to people in an area with a population of around 130,000. More than a third of the recipients were children.

Back to News