This winter, residents across Salford will have the opportunity to ‘Give a Little Love’ to families in need by donating to Home-Start’s campaign.
Local family support charity, Home-Start Trafford, Salford & Wigan, is one of the many Home-Start locations to partner with John Lewis and Waitrose for a national campaign – ‘Give a Little Love’.
The campaign aims to raise £5m across the country, with the money going to Home-Start and FareShare, a food redistribution charity to improve their services.
Kate Wareham, corporate partnerships and fundraising manager at Home-Start Trafford, Salford & Wigan, said: “For the families that we work with, isolation was already a problem before the pandemic, but it’s even worse now.
“Families come to us for all sorts of different reasons. Right now, to give a little love to those families is just a really important thing. It means we can give them a boost and carry them through winter. And we’re doing it, at Home-Start, through our volunteers, and that’s why the support of John Lewis and Waitrose is just fantastic, because we’re able to throw some extra things in there as well.”
Jan Norburn, a volunteer at Home-Start, shared her excitement for the campaign, saying: “I am so thrilled that John Lewis and Waitrose have chosen Home-Start for their campaign and that we feature in one of their iconic Christmas adverts.
“I was so excited to see that flag flying and to know I am part of that organisation, I felt so proud.”
Home-Start Trafford, Salford & Wigan have also partnered with Home-Start Manchester to work with John Lewis in Trafford and Waitrose in Altrincham. Donations are being collected in those stores and the money goes to Home-Start to recruit and train their volunteers.
Wareham added: “Every volunteer we recruit means another family we can support. With all of our families, we recruit volunteers, we train them up, they have six days worth of training, which is actually going to be brought down to two, so it’s gonna be much easier to volunteer in the future.
“And then for a period of six months, the families are supported by a weekly visit for two or three hours, in their own home or in a park, currently, if we have to abide by social distancing.
“The family is supported for six months – it’s supposed to be short term, it’s about helping that family to become confident on their own. For some families, it’s appropriate to have more intensive support, and we have some staff members who provide that, and then those families will be supported by a volunteer later on.”
We’ve already been down to Waitrose to pick up some of our charity merchandise! So happy to be part of the John Lewis/Waitrose Christmas campaign. Check out the ad break of ITV’s The Voice tonight, to see the John Lewis Christmas ad in full! #GiveALittleLove @jlpartnership pic.twitter.com/nF5ZRFavvN
— Home-Start Trafford, Salford & Wigan (@HSTraffandSalf) November 14, 2020
One of the people helped by Home-Start is Joanna, who developed post-natal depression shortly after giving birth to twins.
She shared: “I became more and more withdrawn; one day I burst into uncontrollable tears. And then my Health Visitor referred me to Home-Start. From the moment Home-Start walked through the door, there was no judgement, just genuine care.
“Home-Start then matched me to my volunteer, Vicky. Vicky felt like an old friend and we just chatted away. I struggled with self-doubt and anxiety and I was terrified of taking the twins to a baby group, but Vicky calmed me down, and went together.
“One day, I went to a group on my own. I rang Vicky afterwards and said I couldn’t have done it without her. Each time I did something, I rang Vicky. I wanted her to be proud of me. My time with Home-Start has come to an end, but my friendship with Vicky is just beginning.”
As part of the campaign, John Lewis is and Waitrose is also donating physical products to Home-Start, who are making Christmas morning luxury boxes for selected families. The boxes will be filled with luxury items that the families would otherwise not be able to afford, such as slippers, pyjamas, breakfast items etc.
John Lewis and Waitrose will also be facilitating letters from Santa for the Home-Start families, where they will collect letters from the children and reply as Santa.
It’s that time of year when children are thinking about their Letters to Santa! And what better way of helping 119 children supported by @HSTraffandSalf achieve this than by getting support from the lovely team @jlandpartners and @waitrose (who have very kindly agreed to help) pic.twitter.com/ndLpWI2Jfu
— GM Home-Starts (@GMHomeStarts) November 26, 2020
To contribute to Home-Start’s ‘Give a Little Love’ campaign, donations can be made in the following ways:
- Buying merchandise
- Going into the John Lewis and Waitrose stores physically
- Taking part in their Christmas relay from 1-8 December
- Donating on their website from Tuesday 1 December, where all donations will be doubled
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