Brookwood Village Christmas Foodbank Appeal 2021

There has been too much happen over the last day or so to put it all on our fundraising page, I only have limited space, so I thought I would take to blogging again.  

You may recall I used the blog a couple of years ago and it was very successful, but somehow I have just not had the time this year!!!!

So here I go:

Overnight we have doubled our intake on food parcels to what we had this time last year and we didn't think that that would be possible so it just goes to show you that people are more than willing to help out and this really warms my heart.

We've had a few more donors come onboard too:

Pre-School at St Saviours which is directly behind St Saviours Church in the village, did you know that the Church have two upcoming concerts? One this coming weekend and the other on 12th December so do get yourselves there if you love a Christmas carol like me, details below 😁  

We are very lucky with St Saviours Pre-School every year they help out and we can't thank them enough.  Some of you may remember a few years ago we had to take the wheelbarrow down to the pre-school to collect the parcels because they were so heavy and this of course led to us upgrading to the sleigh beautifully made by a fellow villager and donated for FREE, yes FREE by Homebase in Brookwood!!! 

Pre-School at St Saviours say:  "At Pre-School at St. Saviour’s we offer childcare and education for children in a friendly, thoughtful, motivating and encouraging atmosphere.  Every child is a unique individual and should feel strong and confident about their identity. They are supported and encouraged to progress at their own individual pace in harmony with their stages of development.  The children are treated with equality of opportunity and with the greatest respect.  The children’s happiness and well being is of great importance"

Fletcher Autos - you can find them on Facebook under Kevin Fletcher  This is a family run company and Kevin has been in the motorcycle industry for more than 30 years.  Fletcher Autos have provided much needed food parcels with lots and lots of goodies.  

Do get in touch with company owner, Kevin if your motorcycle needs an MOT, service or repair or indeed anything motorcycle related.  It's a friendly and local business in Cherry Street, Woking.  You can message Kevin Fletcher through Facebook or alternatively, give him a call tel: 01483-751828

Don't Just Sit There, Sell Something - This company has 25 years in telemarketing, and to quote from their website:

"the secret of our success lies in our ability to tailor our sales pitch at specific levels; identifying, understanding and addressing the need for a different approach means that we consistently achieve high levels of success, becoming a self-funding part of every client's business - and we only charge you if we get you results" 

Again, another local company who help out each year and they have provided a very nice cash donation which I am very thrilled to say has pushed us over the £1,000 mark on our JustGiving Page - massive thanks to company owner Liam Brennan.

We had the local rag get in touch about the campaign, Woking News and Mail as they had been keeping a track on our JustGiving Page, well one thing led to another and when I picked up the paper yesterday there it was on the front page, yes front page for everyone to see, well I can tell you everyone was texting me saying how proud they were of our achievements, but the truth of it is that we couldn't do without ALL of your support and it means so much to us that you take the time to get involved.

It's a great picture and I actually managed to persuade Darren to partake this time, he likes to remain in  the background whilst doing all the donkey work, he is the bestest!!!  

We still have just over a week to go on the campaign and we still have lots more parcels to collect, but please do get involved if you can.  I appreciate that it is a very difficult and busy time of the year, but thinking of those that are struggling and unable to cope will help ease their pain of that extra worry of wondering where they are going to get their next meal!!

We do have the QR code so its a lot easier to donate this year, its just a click on your camera and you will be in our fundraising page.  I have even put a copy of the poster below so you don't have to search for the webpage. Go on scan the QR code you know it makes sense 👍

For those of you that are still happy to go to the shops and get non-perishables, Woking Foodbank do have a Christmas wish list as below and I have also included their latest list of what they are short on as at 25th November.

ITEMS WE NEED (LAST UPDATED 25TH NOVEMBER)

• NAPPIES SIZE 4 & 5
• TOILET PAPER
• TINNED SALMON
• SMALL JARS OF COFFEE
• TINNED POTATOES
• JAM
• PASTA SAUCE
• CHOCOLATE BARS
• LONG LIFE SPONGE PUDDINGS
• WASHING DETERGENT (SMALL)
• LONG LIFE JUICE
• CHRISTMAS ITEMS

Finally, for anyone that may be in need on Christmas Day, Foodbank users can book a free Christmas dinner.  

Families who receive support from Woking Foodbank are invited to a free festive dinner on Christmas Day.

The meal has been organised by community volunteer Norman Johns with help from the trustees of Old Woking Community Centre, who are providing their premises for the occasion.

Norman bought five turkeys several months ago - they have been stored by a local butcher and he has a batch of Christmas pudding provided by the Woking branch of Morrisons for dessert.

Boz's the greengrocers have donated fruit and vegetables and money has been donated by the staff and managers of businesses including Poundland in the Peacocks shopping centre and Morrisons.

There will be two sittings at the Centre in Sundridge Road, at 12.30pm and 2pm.  Bookings should be made through a form that is available at the distribution points where foodbank clients collect their parcels, so please spread the word if you know of someone that may benefit from this service.

Right that's it for this week, we are in the run down now to closure only just over a week to go, but the sleigh will be down at Brookwood Club for its annual Christmas Tree light up on Saturday 4th December.  Its an open event so you do not need to be a member!!! If you are thinking of coming and would like to drop a parcel off too that would be blooming fantastic.

Just by way of reminder, my drop off points are :
Brookwood Post Office/Bakers Dozen 8am til 5.30pm
Brookwood Club in the heart of the village 4.30pm to 11pm

My email address should you need one of my team to collect a food parcel is trudifletcher@rocketmail.com

Don't forget the Carols by Candlelight and Noel carols & sons for Christmas as per posters below.