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Newslink Restoring dignity and reviving hope in Salisbury, the UK and Bulgaria
Winter 2010/11
‘I nearly ended it all, now I have hope’ ‘After 35 years in an abusive marriage, the death of my husband didn’t stop the nightmares’ says Ruth. ‘I had no friends to turn to – he wouldn’t let me have any - and my family didn’t know.
A free jewellery workshop in our Salisbury shop
The day that I was thinking about ending it all I came to The Trussell Trust’s Restore charity shop in Salisbury. It changed my life. Shop Manager Chrissy noticed that I wasn’t ok. She sat me down
over a cup of tea and listened. That was a year ago. Now I come here when I’m down and it lifts me up. I’ve joined some of the creative classes in the shop and I have hope for my future.’ Our community charity shops meet people at their point of need. As well as providing affordable goods, creative classes and listening services, our shops also act as foodbank distribution points enabling people in crisis to receive emergency food.
House of Opportunity Gabrovo opens! Velizara and Nasko, both 18, became the first ever residents of our new House of Opportunity in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, recently!
Thanks to your support the House is now officially open and providing orphanage leavers with life-skills training and employment experience within a familystyle home. This is our second House of Opportunity
and our goal is to launch 150 houses in Bulgaria, offering every orphanage leaver a place on our two year programme. It’s a big vision, please help us make it reality! >> make a response inside
Housemother Kiko (left) with Velizara
75th UK foodbank launched but still no foodbanks in North East! More people facing crisis in the UK are receiving emergency food as the number of foodbanks continues to increase.
We are excited that more churches nationwide are joining our foodbank network but there are still no foodbanks in the North East, and only one in Scotland.
Could you: > Help us fund regional development officers? > Tell a church in the North or Scotland about foodbanks? www.trusselltrust.org
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Bulgaria
Christmas Shoeboxes for families that lost homes Local authorities bulldozed Botevgrad Roma Community in August making 200 people homeless, including 100 children. Trapped in a cycle of poverty, the families had been living in the disused shacks illegally for over 20 years. With no alternative accommodation and no welfare state provision, many families were forced to consider sending their children to an orphanage to enable them to survive the freezing winter. This Christmas we will track down these families to give them Christmas Shoeboxes. Our Roma community projects and Houses of Opportunity are helping Roma people to break out of poverty.
In September these girls returned from our annual summer camp to find their homes reduced to rubble. Thanks to your support we’ll be able to give these girls and their families a bit of joy this Christmas...
f my o e n o g in h s li p m o c c I am a rsity! e iv n U to g in o g m a I dreams Two years after joining the House of Opportunity in Botevgrad, Tsetsi, 20, is going to university! For a child abandoned to an orphanage before he can remember, getting into university is almost unheard of. It is an amazing achievement and one of Tsetsi’s life-long dreams.
Tsetsi, who joined us at 18 unable to look anyone in the eye, says: ‘At the House of Opportunity I got a lot of support. It helped me not to end up in prostitution or crime. I never had to steal in order to eat. I have seen this happen to other young people: they didn’t have another choice. Once I am up on my feet, I will be helping this house like it helped me.’
Tim and Richard ’s epic feat: 7 triathlons in 7 days raising £7,000! ‘I had a stupid idea, and Tim wouldn’t forget about it’, says Richard, 50, runner-up triathlon World Champion. The idea? To complete 7 full triathlons totalling 778.15km in 7 consecutive days, raising £7,000 for the Trust.
In September 2011, Richard, Director of Race New Forest, and Tim, Downton Leisure Centre Manager, will attempt 7 of the UK’s toughest triathlons.
27, says ‘I’ve only done two triathlons before and it’s going to be incredibly physically demanding but it’s for a great cause and I just hope we can raise as much as possible!’
Richard, says: ‘I don’t actually know if I can do it - it’s a genuine challenge, but it’s exciting.’ Tim,
This is part of the Trust’s BIG 7 events series in 2011. Sponsor Richard and Tim: www.justgiving/racenewforest7in7
Fancy trying a triathlon?
Events NewslinkWinter3.indd 2
Race New Forest are introducing a novice triathlon in 2011. Tim from Downton Leisure Centre (pictured left) will write you a free training programme if you do a triathlon to raise funds for The Trussell Trust! Visit www.racenewforest.co.uk for more information or www.trusselltrust.org 01/12/2010 14:48:19
Che Visit
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Check out our new website! Visit us online at www.trusselltrust.org
Yes! I’d like to help Thank you for helping The Trussell Trust to transform lives. Please complete the form below and send it back to us at the address underneath. If you are a UK taxpayer please fill out the gift aid form at the bottom. You can also give online at www.trusselltrust.org. Thank you!
Events
I enclose a gift of £______________ Please make cheques payable to The Trussell Trust I’d like to set up a standing order
Help us make 2011 a BIG year that makes a BIG difference... Could you join one of our BIG events for 2011? We’re already planning more so check out our website for latest news:
>> The Big Lunch: 5th June - ask your guests to donate food or funds to the Trust: www.thebiglunch.com
>> Big 7 BOSH Band Tour: 7 dates in July 2011 >> London 10K: 10th July 2011 >> Forestman Triathlon: 14th August 2011
Trussell Trust supporters only (closed to public)
>> Trek Bulgaria 2011:
10-18th September (provisional dates)
>> Discover Adventure Challenges: Join a challenge and raise funds for the Trust www.discoveradventure.com Why not download our new fundraising pack at www.trusselltrust.org and start your own event?
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I’d like to know more about BIG 2011 events Please send me more information about: __________________ ______________________________________________________
t’s 2011. im: ew-
Sign up for Newswire, our bi-montly fortnightlye-newsletter: e-news: Name: _______________________________________________ Email:________________________________________________ Contact Mark Elling 01722 411244 or mark.elling@trusselltrust.org for any events related queries... NewslinkWinter3.indd 3
Please send your completed form to: The Trussell Trust, St. Michael’s Community Centre, St. Michael’s Rd, Salisbury SP2 9LE
www.trusselltrust.org
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UK
Co-op stores help the Trust South Wilts Co-op’s chose the Trust as their charity for 2010. Shoppers are being encouraged to donate items to foodbank collection points in-store. Staff have been fundraising too, raising over £3,000 so far!
BBC Radio 2 gets excited by foodbanks! Trussell Trust Director Chris Mould was a special guest on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show recently. We had a great response, with many wanting to get involved with foodbanks.
Packing a nutritionally balanced foodbox with enough non-perishable food to last a family at least 3 days
Charity Shop refit sees sales soar
Delays in benefit payments cause families to go hungry ‘It was like Christmas come early’ said Wendy, mother of three, when she received her foodbox from Wolverhampton foodbank. Overcome with emotion, she explained that she had nothing to feed her children.
Like many UK foodbank clients, Wendy struggled to put food on the table following delayed benefits. After escaping an abusive marriage, Wendy spent two days on the phone trying to get benefits, only to have them delayed further. Her cupboards were bare. Last year UK foodbanks gave emergency food to 15,000
people experiencing problems with benefits. Iain Duncan-Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is considering our concern over foodbanks filling the gap in state provision. We hope to raise awareness of the problems caused by benefit delay and work with the government to find a solution.
I went from earning £50k to needing a foodbank
The Trussell Trust St. Michael’s Community Centre St. Michael’s Rd, Salisbury SP2 9LE 01722 411244 enquiries@trusselltrust.org www.trusselltrust.org Reg. Charity No. 1110522 - Reg. Ltd. Co. No. 5434524 Reg. in England & Wales NewslinkWinter3.indd 4
A new foodbank in Tower Hamlets is encouraging big city businesses to donate food to feed the borough’s poor. Already RBS and Morgan Stanley are keen to help!
In November Dame Barbara Stocking, Head of Oxfam Global, visited Ebbw Vale foodbank, a project that it now part funds.
Find your nearest foodbank at www. trusselltrust.org or call 01722 427110
Tower Hamlets foodbank helps rich to feed the poor!
Head of Oxfam Global visits Ebbw Vale foodbank
Peter, 40, never thought he’d need to use a foodbank to feed his family. ‘Until recently everything was going well’, he says ‘we had a house, car and owned a business. Suddenly my business failed and everything went wrong at once.’ People from many backgrounds hit crisis and need emergency food and support. Foodbanks rely on donations of food by the public, so please give a tin, packet or jar to your nearest foodbank!
Our new charity shop in Winton, Bournemouth, is hitting record sales since a generous supporter helped finance a refit recently. Why not pop in and have a look!
Ebbw Vale Foodbank’s Adrian Curtis meets Oxfam’s Dame Barbara Stocking Photo: Oxfam
Volunteering helps foodbank client find new job The friendly care at Salisbury foodbank impressed foodbank client Steve so much that he started volunteering. Having battled homelessness and unemployment, volunteering helped Steve to get
After meeting staff, volunteers and clients she was impressed that the foodbank not only provides for people’s immediate needs but also builds their confidence and helps them break out of poverty - high praise indeed!
his life back on track and get a job. He says: ‘I talked about volunteering at the Trust in my job interview. You don’t always think about volunteering when you’re in trouble but it can really help. No-one judges you here, you have a clean slate. It’s given me hope and lifted my self-esteem.’ To volunteer contact 01722 427111 or enquiries@trusselltrust.org
* Some client names have been changed to protect identity 01/12/2010 14:48:24