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spotlight-studios
28th November 2014

Student Action Manchester: Christmas shoebox appeal

Student Action Manchester launch their Christmas shoebox appeal
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TLDR

There were 2,114 rough sleepers in England in 2013. These statistics show an increase of 5% from the previous year.
81,000 households in England were accepted as homeless last year, with 7,908 in the North West alone.

A household comprises one person or a group of people who share living accommodation.

Student Action Manchester is collecting shoeboxes to give to homeless people in Manchester this Christmas time.
The boxes will be delivered by Student Action’s Outreach and Street Support teams to people on the street, as well as to women and children’s shelters.

There will be a stall in the reception area of the Students’ Union from 1st – 5th of December, where you can leave your shoebox or any other individual items you’d like to donate.

Items you could include in your box: warm clothing (hats, gloves, scarves, socks, underwear, rain ponchos), toiletries (deodorant, moisturiser, wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, Vaseline, bars of soap, antiseptic cream), blankets, notebooks, pens and pencils, books to read, toys for children, food items, food vouchers, gift items. We are collecting boxes for men, women and children.

Student Actions Manchester suggests “wrapping your box and including a Christmas card would be lovely too. And if anyone can make a bag rather than a box that would be great – rucksacks will be particularly useful.”

Jo Harris, one of the organisers of the appeal said “Homelessness remains a huge and incredibly sad, frustrating issue – it is not going away

All of us students see the devastating effects of homelessness almost daily, when we walk down Oxford Road or through Piccadilly gardens and see people living on the street.

These are people like us who are going through a hugely difficult time.

This is why the shoebox appeal is so important – society is failing these people, therefore helping them this Christmas time will be make a huge difference.

Your shoebox, or bag, or anything you can give, could make someone happier this Christmas – and that is such a lovely thought. Please give what you can!

Student Action runs loads of different projects and we are always looking for new volunteers, drivers and project leaders.”

You can find more about the shoebox appeal on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1521963538057264/

For more information on Student Action and how to get involved look at their website: www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/studentaction or email:[email protected].


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