Aviva Community Fund has provided £370 of match funding
The Hygiene Bank Wandsworth
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
The Hygiene Bank bank is a grass routes, community, and volunteer run initiative giving basic hygiene products to those of us that need them
The Hygiene Bank is a grassroots, people powered charity, grounded in community, that works through a national network of banks that distribute hygiene essentials to those in their local area living in poverty. The Wandsworth Hygiene Bank is one of many local, volunteer run, hygiene banks across the UK.
Hygiene poverty is not being able to afford many of the everyday hygiene and personal grooming products most of us take for granted. The reality of low income is that it restricts people’s options, leaving us caught between being able to heat our homes, pay the rent, eat or be clean. The Hygiene Bank believes keeping clean isn’t a luxury, it’s a basic human right. We tackle hygiene poverty by distributing essentials, including soap, hand sanitiser, toothpaste, baby essentials and period products.
The Wandsworth Hygiene Bank distributes products to local frontline organisations in the borough, including Women’s Refuge, Baby Bank’s, Family Centres and organisations supporting the homeless. Supporting the Hygiene Bank Wandsworth means supporting not just one organisation but multiple local organisations tackling a wider range of issues, from child poverty to domestic abuse and homelessness.
As a volunteer run project, all money raised for The Hygiene Bank Wandsworth goes directly on hygiene essentials for those experiencing hygiene poverty in Wandsworth. This means it’s simple to see how far your donation to the hygiene bank will go in directly supporting those of us living in hygiene poverty. We estimate that £35 will provide a household/family of four with a basic range of toiletries to last a month (based on 2 adults and 2 teens) or £8 will provide an individual with a basic range of toiletries to last a month.
Facts & Figures: Over 14 million people in the UK live in poverty - that is one fifth of our population (source: Social Metrics Commission). We know that long before people go to a food bank they stop buying toiletries (source: The Trussel Trust). Over one third of people living in the UK and over half of 18 to 24 year olds have had to go without hygiene or grooming essentials or cut down on them due to lack of funds (source: In Kind Direct, 2017).
The Impact of COVID-19: The need for hygiene essentials has never been more pressing than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when cleanliness so directly affects people’s health and the lack of access to personal hygiene and cleaning products can lead to social exclusion. By providing essential products, such as soap, hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial spray, The Hygiene Bank is supporting people through this crisis, and reducing the spread of the virus.
Visit our website to find out more about hygiene poverty and the work of The Hygiene Bank: https://thehygienebank.com/
Thank you for your support!
The Wandsworth Hygiene Bank Team,
Alex B, Alex L, Deepika, Sharon, Helena and Lindsay
This project successfully funded on 23rd March 2021