155 Christmas Bags, £3875 spent by Redhill and Reigate public - A-mazing !!
Having (ambitiously we thought !) prepared 100 bags and baubles hoping to just pip last year's amazing result, we sorted all the booty at the end of Saturday to find we had enough for 155 bag loads - that's a whopping £3875 spent by the public in one day !!
I will never forget the sight of Nick in his Santa suit appearing time and time again at the sort zone with seemingly endless trolley loads of Christmas treats.
There is no photo I was able to take that could capture the scale of it all - look at this image and multiply by 3 or 4 to get an idea.
An emergency call to Marks to ask for 55 extra bags and a ring around to find appropriate "homes" and we were good to go. Where would be have been without the team from Avocado Audiovisual would had offered their lorry and muscle power to load and distribute the bags - we needed it !
We were delighted able to deliver on all the requests we received. As far we are aware every single local agency / charity working with families or individuals in financial hardship received all the beautiful lovingly prepared bags they wanted.
What the volunteers said ..
“Loveworks is doing fantastic work to connect the local community and reach out to those in need in a unique and personal way. I was inspired to get involved as a volunteer after hearing about their work and finding out more about what Linda and her team are doing for local people. I found it to be a truly humbling and heart-warming experience. The generosity of local people is overwhelming!” Emma
Emma is a Grants Officer for Surrey Community Foundation - the organisation who awarded a grant for this project. Very encouraging for us that she came all the way from Guildford to volunteer !
"I found it very rewarding and it has inspired me to do more volunteering in the future!" Mary
Saturday was absolutely knackering but really, really rewarding. It would be an absolute privilege to stay involved with Loveworks. I’ll be happy to help when I can…Lindsey x
"It was fun. Thankyou for channelling us.
Love Santa"
Xxx
Loveworks.org would like to thank all the fantastic volunteers..
Georgina, Naomi, Zoe, Mike, Jane, Emma, Mary, Steve, Nick and Lindsey and Volunteer Coordinator Jackie.
Marks and Spencer, Surrey Community Foundation and Squires Garden Centre.
The bags this year were delivered via / to the following agencies... ESDAS - East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services, Furnistore, Red Oak Children's Centre - Merstham, Merstham Community Facility, Raven Housing Trust - families in temporary accomodation, Reigate Womens Aid Refuge - for families fleeing domestic violence, Salvation Army - families in need known to Salvation Army Captain. Wayside Hostel - for homeless young women and Welcare - centre for families in need. We also collected gifts which will be gift-wrapped for the 20 homeless guys who use the Salvation Army Drop-in Centre.
To find out more about Loveworks.org. volunteer or donate visit our website http://www.loveworks.org.uk/
 |
| A sea of red bags full of Christmas treats |
I will never forget the sight of Nick in his Santa suit appearing time and time again at the sort zone with seemingly endless trolley loads of Christmas treats.
There is no photo I was able to take that could capture the scale of it all - look at this image and multiply by 3 or 4 to get an idea.
An emergency call to Marks to ask for 55 extra bags and a ring around to find appropriate "homes" and we were good to go. Where would be have been without the team from Avocado Audiovisual would had offered their lorry and muscle power to load and distribute the bags - we needed it !
We were delighted able to deliver on all the requests we received. As far we are aware every single local agency / charity working with families or individuals in financial hardship received all the beautiful lovingly prepared bags they wanted.
 |
| Mary, Emma and Steve ask the Reigate public to buy extra goods in Marks and Spencer |
What the volunteers said ..
“Loveworks is doing fantastic work to connect the local community and reach out to those in need in a unique and personal way. I was inspired to get involved as a volunteer after hearing about their work and finding out more about what Linda and her team are doing for local people. I found it to be a truly humbling and heart-warming experience. The generosity of local people is overwhelming!” Emma
Emma is a Grants Officer for Surrey Community Foundation - the organisation who awarded a grant for this project. Very encouraging for us that she came all the way from Guildford to volunteer !
"I found it very rewarding and it has inspired me to do more volunteering in the future!" Mary
 |
| Nick aka Loveworks Santa and Lindsey |
Saturday was absolutely knackering but really, really rewarding. It would be an absolute privilege to stay involved with Loveworks. I’ll be happy to help when I can…Lindsey x
"It was fun. Thankyou for channelling us.
Love Santa"
Xxx
Loveworks.org would like to thank all the fantastic volunteers..
Georgina, Naomi, Zoe, Mike, Jane, Emma, Mary, Steve, Nick and Lindsey and Volunteer Coordinator Jackie.
Marks and Spencer, Surrey Community Foundation and Squires Garden Centre.
The bags this year were delivered via / to the following agencies... ESDAS - East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services, Furnistore, Red Oak Children's Centre - Merstham, Merstham Community Facility, Raven Housing Trust - families in temporary accomodation, Reigate Womens Aid Refuge - for families fleeing domestic violence, Salvation Army - families in need known to Salvation Army Captain. Wayside Hostel - for homeless young women and Welcare - centre for families in need. We also collected gifts which will be gift-wrapped for the 20 homeless guys who use the Salvation Army Drop-in Centre.
To find out more about Loveworks.org. volunteer or donate visit our website http://www.loveworks.org.uk/
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