A housing provider is giving thousands of pounds saved by holding a virtual staff Christmas party to a foodbank in Netherfield.
A total of £3,200 will be donated to the foodbank by Jigsaw Homes Group to help families and individuals in this area where they manage homes and provides services.
Hilary Roberts, chief executive of Jigsaw Homes said: “Like many organisations across the country, we set aside a budget for our annual Christmas celebration where we take the opportunity to thank colleagues for their hard work during the year, in often demanding and challenging situations.
“Circumstances mean that’s not possible this year, so by holding a virtual celebration, we can use the money saved to help our residents and our communities. This has been a difficult year for
many people, so we wanted to further support these vital foodbanks and we hope this money will go some way to help.”
Jigsaw Homes Group, which owns and manages more than 35,000 homes across the East Midlands and the North West, has also provided £500,000 to community groups and charities through its Jigsaw Foundation programme.
Avril Rathbone from Netherfield Foodbank said: “With the changing situation we are experiencing a steady increase in requests for food parcels.
“While a lot of our food is donated from various sources, we find ourselves, more frequently, having to purchase the basic items which make up a standard food parcel. This money will be very helpful towards this support.”
An additional £5,000 will also go to the Group’s Jigsaw Support which runs a number of services across the region including homelessness and housing advice, domestic abuse support, employment services and agency managed properties. It will be used for presents and gift vouchers for customers and children across its services, so everyone has something to open on Christmas Day.
