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Some old friends of the project have been in touch in the past few days to donate bundles of Christmas gifts and warm winter clothing for the women and young people we support.
We are so grateful for these gestures of support.
We can assure you, the women are too – judging by the reaction when some of these donations were prizes in this week’s bingo session.
So, we’d would like to publicly thank May Marski for donating a big fleece, socks and a spa set.
Jess – a close friend of a member of staff here – and her colleagues at AC Valve Alliance, in Coalville, collected bags of winter coats, hats and gloves which we know will go down well with the women here.
We won’t tire of saying this… donations like these can save lives.
We opened our Christmas appeal earlier this month, asking for people to donate items, whether as a festive treat or something more practical.
Ideally, ‘treats’ would be new and unused perfumes, toiletries, spa sets or make-up.
But, for those who are already struggling to stay warm and safe this winter, we have some specific suggestions.
This is our shopping list of essentials:
Warm clothes – coats, knitwear, gloves and scarves.
Sleeping bags and bedding
Underwear, particular knickers.
Cup-a-soup, tea, coffee and hot chocolate
Tinned food
Meanwhile, some people might prefer to make a longer-term commitment to other aspects of what we do here.
For example, counselling is at the heart of the New Futures Project.
We’d love to hear from you if you would like to show your commitment by, for example, sponsoring one of our counselling rooms or the costs of sessions for those who might struggle to pay themselves.
You can read about all of the counselling services we provide – including our low-cost service.
Launching the appeal a couple of weeks ago, New Futures director Della Kagure Brown said: “Many of our women do feel desperate and despairing at this time of year.
“Many have lost contact with friends, family and children and are isolated and alone.
“Letting them know they are not alone and that people do care about them would be a wonderful gift.
“At the very least, helping them stay warm in the worst of the cold weather could save lives.”
The project will be closed between Friday, December 20 until Monday, January 6.
If you would like to contact us during that period to talk about making a donation, then please leave a message and we will respond as soon as we are back.
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.
We publish a monthly newsletter to tell the stories of the women we support and to round up all the things we’ve been doing.
Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox at the end of every month.
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