Colleagues and customers at Showell Court, one of our extra care schemes, are donating food, clothing, toys and toiletries to a charity which supports disadvantaged groups in Heath Town, Wolverhampton.
Instead of doing the usual Secret Santa last year, colleagues at Showell Court wanted to do something different in the festive period.
Our colleagues at Showell Court alighted on the idea of participating in a ‘reverse advent calendar’ – an initiative which involves donating an item each day between 1 and 24 December to organisations such as food banks.
The team at Showell Court linked up with Hope Community Project and presented them with the first batch of donations just before Christmas.
This was followed up by a recent visit from representatives of the project to collect the latest donations from Showell Court.
Gayna Miles, our Health and Wellbeing Officer, said: “One of my colleagues saw someone else doing a reverse advent on Facebook and we thought that sounded like a good idea as the money otherwise spent on Secret Santa gifts could be put to better use.
“Customers and colleagues at Showell Court were all on board and together we gathered five big boxes of household items, tinned food, toiletries, hats, gloves, scarves and toys for children of different ages.
“Hope Community Project are a wonderful group who work closely with any marginalised group within the local area. We are planning to support the charity throughout 2025 and beyond.”
Established in 1985, Hope Community Project is a small charity based in Heath Town which supports marginalised groups and families in their local community. Among other services, Hope Community Project offers a community café, parenting workshops, a play group, adult education opportunities, holiday activities for young people and a food bank.
Lisa Storey, Project Manager at Hope Community Project said: “We are grateful for the continued support from residents and staff at Showell Court.
“Building stronger communities is central to our mission at Hope and our work with GSA supports this.”
Showell Court provides one- and two-bedroom apartments in a fully accessible setting for people over the age of 55 with or without care needs.
Find out more about Showell Court here