A wonderful donation of clothes and other essentials from our new friends Jackie and Gary

Drop-in manager Louise Cook adding items to our clothes bank.

A lovely couple called Jackie and Gary called in on us out of the blue this week to drop off two large bags of dresses, blouses, underwear, towels, and bedding.

They arrived as we were discussing, with concern, the lack of items in our drop-in service's clothes bank, and our dwindling stocks of toiletries and other everyday essentials.

The women who visit our drop-in are among the most vulnerable and socially isolated we see in the course of our work.

We pride ourselves on being there for them when they need us, but our capacity to offer them a change of clothes and other necessities is growing more limited by the week.

Every moment the women spend with us in drop-in is crucial because it helps us gain their trust and plan in detail what we need to do to help them now and in the future.

Jackie told us she had been looking online for a suitable place to take her donations when she chanced across the New Futures Project's website.

She told us: "We wanted to do what we could to help women who, for no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times.

"It's about having empathy with women who are not as fortunate as I am. When I read about the New Futures Project and the women it supports, I decided it was the perfect place."

READ MORE: A wonderful donation from our friends at Leicester Rotary's Impact Group

READ MORE: Can you help us keep women safe and warm when winter hits?

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/6c7629_c663f8ebfed6450eab7ea3a8b6dbb0e2/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Our friends at De Montfort University made this poignant film about our outreach work.

Jackie and Gary came to us a few days after we issued an appeal for donations of winter woollies, such as coats, jumpers, scarves, socks, and sleeping bags and blankets.

Louise Cooke, who runs drop-in, said at the time: "At this time of year especially for our vulnerable clients who are homeless it can be very cold and wet.

"We like to make sure we are keeping them warm as much as we can so any donations would be greatly appreciated.

"We are in great need of coats, scarves, gloves, fluffy socks, and big jumpers.

"Thank you in advance for any help you are able to offer to support our lovely ladies who are in need."

At the moment, we are trying to build up our stocks of warm winter clothing, sleeping bags and blankets.

The women we support, particularly those who are sleeping rough or who are drifting from address to address, are especially vulnerable to the cold.

However, even those who have who have places of their own are at risk because they can’t afford to heat them adequately.

Apart from clothing, here's a rough guide to the kind of donations we need regularly:

• Deodorant (roll-on)

• Shower gel

• Dry shampoo

• Shampoo

• Conditioner

• Antibacterial hand gel

• Water wipes

• Feminine wipes

• Tampons

• Sanitary towels

• Toothpaste

• Toothbrush

• Body cream

• Breakfast bars

If you would like to drop off a donation, call us on 0116 2510803 to arrange a day and time. We are open Monday to Thursday.

We are in London Road, just a short distance up the road from Leicester railway station and parking is available nearby.

We may be able to collect too. Again, please call us for a chat.

The New Futures Project offers a comprehensive welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.

Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk

You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.