DLAG and our supporters are sleeping out to raise money urgently needed to increase capacity to fight poverty in our community this winter.
by Rosie Caley in London, Greater London, United Kingdom
The additional funding will allow us to invest in fundraising tools including card reader machines for charities which include gift aid, which can be taken to collection stalls, football stadiums and other events, further increasing our future capacity to help people in need in our community.
For over two years the Dons Local Action Group, a local network of volunteers initially formed in response to the COVID-19 crisis, has been helping those who need it most across Kingston, Merton and Wandsworth.
We provide food parcels, household goods, furniture and appliances to those in need in our communities. We also donate laptops through our Keep Kids Connected campaign for children who need access to online learning. We aim to help those in our local community to fight poverty and offer support.
How to we do this? We collect food and household goods donated by the public, at our stalls outside supermarkets and our football stadium. We take all the donations to our central food sorting hub, created carefully selected one-week food boxes and then we deliver them directly to our beneficiaries, who have been referred to us by recognised agencies such as GPs or social services.
We also make bulk deliveries of food products to other local local charities and foodbanks in the area.
We also run a similar operation for furniture redistribution. We will collect donated items of furniture and other appliances, and transfer them to warehouse space for sorting and delivering to those without the basics at home including beds, dining tables, chairs and storage.
We're building a diverse and resilient community network to tackle the effects of homelessness and poverty.
With the increased costs of living, soaring energy prices and high inflation we are needed more now than ever. The funds raised will help us provide additional support over the winter months and ensure we reach everyone who needs us.
We are fund-raising to enable us to meet increased demand upon our essential services helping those in greatest need in our community. The money will be used to increase our capacity, including fuel for van collections and deliveries; PPE for volunteers on donation stalls and food hub; and printed advertising to attract volunteers, goods and financial donations.
Please help us raise money to continue our work.