Socks, stationery and ID badges are generously shipped to a super charity in Northern Ireland
When Bevín O’Hare spotted 250 pairs of brand-new sports socks being offered via A Good Thing over the summer by Lacework, a central London-based IT firm, she was quick off the mark with getting in her request.
Business donations making a difference
Bevín is the manager of Home-Start Newry & Mourne in Northern Ireland, a brilliant charity that provides emotional and practical support to local families with children under five. The charity needs to raise about £100,000 each year to carry out its vital work: last year it supported over 600 needy families (comprising over over 1,000 children). Bevín explained to us that it’s a huge help whenever the charity is able to get hold of anything it needs for free.
Bevín has also been matched recently via A Good Thing with visitor ID badges (donated by the branded merchandise firm WCM&A) and 1,000 envelopes (donated via the platform by Branding Focus). These are items that Home-Start Newry & Mourne needs for its day to day operations, so Bevín was delighted to have had them given away for free:
“We get 30% of our funding from the Department of Health, but the rest we make up by applying for funding, and carrying out fundraising activities. Anything we can get for free, we’re delighted! Envelopes are a big part of our stationery budget. We use them all the time. Getting hold of them for free frees up other money. The less money we spend on things like stationery, the more we can spend directly on families.”
Bevín told us a bit more about the sorts of donations that can have an impact:
“Stationery is useful, also anything that can go direct to families: clothing, kidswear. Practical things or anything that allows us to save money to then spend on core things.”
Keeping families warm this winter
Families with young children come to Home-Start Newry & Mourne for support for many reasons: many are experiencing issues including poverty, illness, isolation, disability, mental health crises or domestic violence. Bevín was thrilled to be able to give the warm and high-quality socks as gifts to families as they go into the colder winter months, and was delighted that Lacework was able to post them to her in Northern Ireland:
“We’ll give the socks to our families: we’re making up ‘keep warm packs’ to keep mums and dads warm this winter. It’s so useful that things can be shipped for free: we just couldn’t pay for the shipping ourselves.”
Donations needed now more than ever
Bevín is a big fan of A Good Thing:
“It was all very quick, it’s a very easy platform to use. Some things are suitable, and others are not, but you just click on the button, it’s very straightforward to make a request. It’s excellent, I’m very pleased.”
The number of families that Home-Start Newry & Mourne supports has been steadily rising for some time, but the charity experienced its biggest-ever jump this year. Bevín explains:
“We are still in the midst of covid fallout. Kids are presenting with issues, with development queries, with speech delay. Meanwhile parental mental health has suffered, and poverty has deepened. The move to Universal Credit has put so many families under pressure.”
Charities like Home-Start Newry &Mourne really does need A Good Thing and the donating businesses more than ever before.
We’re looking to work with more businesses across Northern Ireland to support the increasing number of fantastic charities we’re working with. Can your business help?
