Seaham Foodbank received a welcome boost yesterday as nearby organisations worked together to make a huge donation.
Spectrum Business Park-based Great Annual Savings Group (GAS) led a two-week appeal to support the service, which is based at St Hild and St Helen Christian Fellowship, Dawdon.
Around £600 of food was donated to the Foodbank, which gave out more than 400 emergency three-day food parcels in 2015.
GAS partners Spennymoor Town FC and Independent Stella and Dot stylist Rachel Johnson joined the B2B cost saving specialist’s appeal by contributing raffle prizes and use of the club van to transport the large amount of food to the site.
GAS has also offered the Fellowship a free full energy audit to help them reduce consumption after Pastor David Taylor explained how difficult the building is to heat during the delivery.
The Group collected staff contributions for two weeks from its employees and then matched their effort to double the donation on the morning of Friday 16 December, delivering the mammoth haul to the Foodbank that afternoon.
Pastor Taylor, St Hild and St Helen Christian Fellowship, said: “There’s a great need in the community for this service, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. A lot of people struggle and we try to alleviate that by supporting them, signposting them and helping them move on.
“We help people with fuel as well as food by distributing seasonal vouchers. We want people to have the basics: heat, light and food.
“Thank you to the staff at Great Annual Savings Group, who obviously recognise the real reason for the season.”
Bradley Groves, Chief Executive and Chairman of GAS, said: “We operate on national level, but our roots are in the North East and we want to be an active part of the community in which we work, which was why we chose the Foodbank as a beneficiary.
“I’m thrilled that our staff got behind the appeal with such gusto and we’re thankful for the support we received from our partners at Spennymoor Town and Rachel the Independent Stylist.
“The aim was to make a significant contribution to the Foodbank that would help a number of families in our immediate area and that’s what we’ve managed to do. I’d urge other businesses to carry out similar exercises and people in Seaham to support the team at St Hild and St Helen so they can continue this crucial safety net.”
Great Annual Savings Group specialises in giving businesses control over their running costs and has saved its customers millions of pounds in 2016.
For more information on Great Annual Savings Group, visit www.greatannualsavings.com