Leamington homeless charity overwhelmed by support for Christmas shoebox appeal

Staff at Helping Hands have been overwhelmed at the amount of support for their Christmas shoebox appeal. Photo supplied by Helping Hands

Helping Hands, which is based in Leamington, works with vulnerable and homeless people in the district by providing much-needed help through a soup kitchen, skills training and their ‘House2Home’ service, which provides household items that the tenants could not afford to buy themselves.

From October to early December the charity ran their annual Christmas shoebox appeal. The aim behind the shoeboxes is that they are full of items that will be useful for the recipients.

The appeal saw masses of donations come in from individuals, schools and businesses.

Over the last week the charity has been giving out the donations.

A spokesperson from Helping Hands said: "We would like to say a huge thank you to the local community for their overwhelming support this Christmas with a range of donations.

"These included shoeboxes, toys, food and clothing vouchers, food hampers, turkeys and toiletries to name but a few.

"We received so much generosity from local individuals as well as businesses, churches, community groups, schools and many other places came together to give so generously.

"The donations have been going out over the last week to individuals who attend our drop-in as well as local hostels, mother and children’s units, supported housing and refuges, and local families facing a difficult Christmas.

"We know they will make a massive difference to these people, and as always we could not have done this without the wonderful generosity of the local community."