How To Help The Homeless In Oxford In Cold Weather
Its cold outside. Here are some tips for helping people who are sleeping rough in Oxford during the winter months:
1) Stop and talk loneliness is a big problem. Ask if there is anything they need or would like a hot drink or something warm to eat. Or offer a warm coat, blanket, gloves or a hat.
2) Alert Streetlink. Give as much detail about the individuals location as you can. Visit www.streetlink.org.uk or download the Streetlink app
3) If a person is in immediate danger, or you believe they are under 18, call 999
4) Help Emmaus Oxfords weekly rough sleeper support: please support us by donating camping equipment as well as warm clothing such as waterproof coats, footwear, socks, underpants, hats, gloves and scarves. Find out more
5) Donate to, or volunteer with, local homelessness charities such as Emmaus Oxford
Thank you for caring
Rotary Collecting Tents Sleeping Bags Backpacks
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The Ipswich-Rowley Rotary Club is holding a tent/sleeping bag/backpack drive to help people in New Hampshires Saco Valley who are homeless or going through a rough patch.
One of the past presidents of the Ipswich-Rowley Rotary Club, Gail Doktor, is now not only the reverend of the Community Church in Jackson, New Hampshire, but she is on the board of the Way Station in North Conway.
The Way Station provides a valuable day resource center for homeless people and for those who might not be able to afford utilities, washing facilities, internet access, or basic personal care resources.
Doktor and the pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Nativity, Nathan Hall, have joined leaders from other Saco Valley churches and faith communities to reach out to the areas less-fortunate citizens who are battling extreme poverty, homelessness, or simply periods of bad luck.
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After learning of Gails involvement with the Way Station, the Ipswich-Rowley Rotary board organized a tent/sleeping bag/backpack drive. They are asking for donations of gently used tents, sleeping bags, and/or backpacks.
Rotary will be collecting these items from now until Saturday, December 18. There are drop-off boxes inside the Ipswich branch of BankGloucester on High Street and the Institution for Savings at Depot Square.
How Making A Difference Feels
Although Cornerstone distributes the sleeping bags, Easton remembered a time last year where he got to give one to a woman outside a McDonalds and how much it meant to her.
A few months later, me and my dad were driving and we saw her with the sleeping bag clipped to her pants, and that made me feel really good, Easton said.
Lacey has also found their work each year really rewarding.
It makes me feel happy, she said. It makes me feel like I could have just changed someones life.
Easton said that even if you dont have the option to donate, its important to remember that people experiencing homelessness are still people.
Acknowledge that theyre there, even just with a smile.
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Blessing Bags For The Homeless
April 26, 2013 Sarah Lemp This post contains affiliate links
Keep these Blessing Bags on hand or in your car for passing along to someone in need. We live in a suburb of Detroit. Quite frequently, we find ourselves at a traffic light downtown, next to a homeless man or two standing on the corner. Have you been in this situation before?
something I just love the idea of being proactive and thinking ahead, so you are ready when you face a need!
Sleeping Bags Urgently Needed For Homeless People This Christmas
14th November 20166th December 2016 by Paul Cardwell
Glasgow based charity is also seeking coats, bags and toiletries – it is opening two donation centres on December 4
A Scottish charity is hoping to collect over 500 sleeping bags to give to homeless people to keep them warm this winter.
Simon Community Scotland is also urging the general public to donate rucksacks and handbags full of essential items, such as food, clothes and toiletries for men and women.
The charity will distribute items collected to those in need in Glasgow, North Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire in time for Christmas.
With winter beginning to bite we need donations and support
It has set December 4 as Donations Day and is encouraging members of the public to drop off items at the warehouse on 24 Rosyth Road, Shawfield between 10am and 4pm or to The Barn Youth Centre, 37 Abbotsford Place, Gorbals between 12pm and 4pm.
Simon Community Scotland engages around 3,000 people at risk of or experiencing homelessness and operates eight residential facilities.
In September it marked its 50th anniversary of seeking to provide practical solutions for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
In Glasgow alone, its street team works with around 150 rough sleepers every month, with up to 40 new cases each month.
Hugh Hill, director of services at Simon Community Scotland, said: Rough sleeping is bad for your physical and mental health its unsafe, its risky and its scary.
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Can You Donate Sleeping Bags
You can donate your sleeping bags to homeless shelters and charity shops. Some charity shops will pick up sleeping bag donations directly at your home. While others dont offer home pick-ups. They have specific drop-off locations where you can drop your sleeping bags.
In this article, I will help you donate your sleeping bags to homeless people. I will also figure out the names of charity shops that accept sleeping bag donations. So that you can easily donate your sleeping bags and help someone in need.
Why Donate To The Homeless
There are many ways you can help, and donating things other than money is one of the best ideas for helping the homeless.
Whether you have spare things lying around at home that could be put to good use, or you buy new things, donating to the right places means you can be sure you’re really doing something positive. It can also be the perfect way to help if you don’t have much cash to spare, but do have some extra things you don’t need.
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Does Goodwill Accept Sleeping Bags
Goodwill accepts gently used sleeping bags. The sleeping bags should fully function and are resaleable. The reason is that Goodwill resells your donated sleeping bags as used gear in their online and physical stores.
So If youre willing to donate your sleeping bags to Goodwill keep in mind that Goodwill does not provide donations to the homeless.
Rather, the revenue generated by selling those items is used to provide employment training to job seekers and prepare them for interviews. Goodwill career centers will help students in your community learn new skills, create resumes, and earn credentials.
If you want to donate a sleeping bag to your nearest Goodwill just visit their website at goodwill.org. Scroll down and youll see a search bar. In that search bar type your city name or zip code. Then it will come up with all the nearest Goodwill donation centers.
Once you identify the nearest Goodwill donation center you have to take your sleeping bag and drop it at the respective center. They dont have a home pick-up service.
While donating to any charity make sure that the donation centers are staffed by attendants. Also, there should be the name of the organization, a clear mission statement, contact details, and details of funds contributed on the donation bins.
In this way, you can ensure that your donations are helping needy people rather than supporting for-profit organizations.
Service Supporting Rough Sleepers Across Stoke
The service is asking for monetary donations to buy food and supplies for rough sleepers across Stoke-on-Trent
An outreach service for the homeless in Stoke-on-Trent is struggling amid the current coronavirus crisis and has appealed for help from the public.
Elizabeth Harris founded Stoke-on-Trent Homeless Outreach in 2019 after her own struggles with rough sleeping and her mental health.
In 2018 she jumped from a motorway bridge and broke her back, ribs and coccyx. Elizabeth says she ‘was very lucky to be alive.’
After spending time at the Harplands Hospital, Elizabeth is now in a much better place mentally and has recovered from her physical injuries but she will never forget the position she was once in.
As a result, she decided to set up the homeless outreach service in order to help those in the city who are struggling and now they need help even more due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has brought donations to a halt.
Elizabeth said: “We recently had quite a big surge of donations so I have some things leftover from that, but otherwise I am struggling.
“A lot of the churches and organisations that feed the homeless have had to close their doors under current circumstances.
“So we have set up a Paypal so if people want to help and are able to they can donate and I can go and get supplies to keep us going.”
She, and her team of volunteers, help the city’s homeless by offering them warm, clean clothes, filling food, sleeping supplies and hygiene products.
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Cambridge Secures Sleeping Bags For The Homeless
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Cambridge is trying to keep its population living on the streets warm as winter weather ramps up. A project that started out smaller with wool blankets has turned into a larger one that now supplies sleeping bags.
Cambridge city councilor Marc McGovern started a program 8 years ago after meeting a woman in a shelter. I was talking about housing, job training, and mental health services and this woman said to me all I need is a blanket, I need to be warm tonight, said McGovern.
McGovern teamed up with city businesses and asked for donations to buy hundreds of high-end sleeping bags capable of keeping someone warm on the areas coldest nights.
We know this isnt solving homelessness but people are going to be cold tonight and so while we are addressing those longer-term issues we have to make sure we are feeding people, keeping them warm, keeping them healthy, said McGovern.
Reverend Kate Layzer runs one of the shelters where the sleeping bags go out.
Donate To A Homeless Shelter
Homeless shelters do so much amazing work, and often rely on donations. Food is high up on their list of priorities, although they’ll be happy to receive donations of things like clothes and duvets. These can be really useful both in shelters and on the streets, providing people who have to sleep rough with some much-needed warmth.
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Donate To Tents 4 Homeless
Tents-4-Homeless addresses the critical need to protect homeless people from inclement weather and to offer a temporary night-time place of refuge by providing durable, light-weight, weather-resistant tents and sleeping bags to homeless women, men and children not in emergency shelters.
The Tents-4-Homeless project does not address the root causes of homelessness rapid economic globalization, increasing trends towards privatization and land speculation, lack of job training programs, lack of affordable housing options, poverty and mental illness. The Resources menu bar on the right lists many organizations working on structural changes to end homelessness.
Our efforts are aimed at addressing the pressing need of homeless people for a basic shelter to protect themselves from the rain or cold nights when emergency housing in a shelter program is not available. You can help by donating a tent or sleeping bag, or by making a donation so that Tents-4-Homeless may acquire and distribute tents and sleeping bags on your behalf.
Tents and funds donated to the Tents-4-Homeless project will be distributed to homeless individual and families currently without shelter. Additional items like sleeping bags, thermal underwear and blankets are also welcomed.
All donations are tax exempt through the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law, Inc.
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Donations For Homeless Shelters Made Easy By Bags In Bulk
While most of us try to be both giving and gracious all year long, our abundance of warmth and shelter are never easier to see than when the seasons change and the weather becomes cold.
The autumn and winter rains, winds, and snow are hard enough to endure for those of us with adequate jackets, blankets, and clothing to take refuge in, but what do the people with no shelter do? Who is taking care of the homeless, under-privileged, and displaced people in our communities who dont have access to the basic warm and dry items we take so much for granted?
Theres an old saying that remarks, If you want something done, youve got to do it yourself. This is true of course in all things, but never more so than when it comes to providing a better quality of life for all people. Here at Bags in Bulk we believe that equal access to a quality of life begins with having equal access to quality products.
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Indivisible Even With Those Who Feel Invisible
During times like these when politics and a constant stream of negative news can make it feel like our country is more divided than ever, its important to remember that in the end we are all neighbors, all people, and all worthy of being treated with equal kindness, dignity, and respect. Every person of every age and race in every state deserves to feel safe, seen, and cared for. Dont leave someone in your community out in the cold this winter when the simple gift of donation could wrap them in the warmth they so desperately need.
What To Do With Old Sleeping Bags
The best thing you can do with old sleeping bags is to donate them. Donate your sleeping bag to someone in need.
Most of the camping gear is synthetic so it is hard to decompose. If youre no longer using an old sleeping bag make sure it is not ending up in the landfill.
Homeless people and charity shops should be your top priority when donating your sleeping bags. They deserve your donations.
According to the Whitehouse, the estimated number of homeless in the United States is about half a million.
The number of homeless people in other parts of the world is enormous.
You can also donate your old sleeping bags to local boy scout troops, girl guides, youth groups, and volunteers who are working to uplift your community.
Poor families with low income would also highly appreciate your sleeping bag donations. Also, consider donating to your friends who love camping.
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How To Donate Items To The Homeless
Homelessness is a serious and growing problem in the UK. Across the country, it’s estimated there are over 320,000 people without a home of their own, while the number of people sleeping rough on the streets is rising. This is something that needs to be addressed. Giving items that could be of use in one way or another is a great way to start.
Will Charity Shops Take Sleeping Bags
Charity shops will gladly accept new and gently used sleeping bag donations. In fact, sleeping bags are their most needed donations. The way it works is that your sleeping bags will go in their stores and poor families will be able to purchase them free of charge. Thats a great way to help people in need.
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Hutt St Centre Couldnt Do What We Do Without Our Generous Supporters
Thank you for your support of people experiencing homelessness. Material items we gratefully accept are listed below. To respect peoples dignity, provide good quality items, and with consideration to WHS practices, in particular increased COVID19-safe practices, we are only accepting new items.
Christmas Collections / Drives
Running a Christmas collection or drive is a great way to supply non-perishable items to support Hutt St Centre and people experiencing homelessness, especially at Christmas time. Often items that are the most needed, are common household or personal items – in advance, thank you.
You can view and download our 2021 Christmas Wish List here. Please note some additional delivery information included on the Wish List, with respect to current COVID-19 restrictions.
For information about delivery details, please see below.
Year-round items
- Pre-cooked food
Bulk food items for the Dining Room
Hutt St Centre does accept bulk quantities of products for our Dining Room, when these items meet our service delivery requirements. These donations typically come from manufacturers, suppliers, and/or distributors that can package and provide the items in bulk.
If you are a food manufacturer, supplier or distributor and have bulk items to donate, please call and ask to speak with Kitchen Manager. Items cannot be accepted without arranging in advance.
Donations of fruits and vegetables
Delivery details
Donation delivery times are between 8:30am – 4:30pm, Monday – Friday.
Warm Clothes Warm Blankets Warm Hearts
Starting this year, Bags in Bulk is introducing a new line of warm and dry products to provide individuals in communities nationwide with the most important items they need to make it safely through fall and winter. We are now the premier wholesale rain jackets, bulk blankets, homeless sleeping bags and supplies for donation destination! With something for everyone, theres no reason anyone should go without.
Our wholesale rain ponchos are perfect for adults and teens, men or women, and they come in clear and 5 color assortments. Equipped with hoods to keep the rain off your head and chest, each set comes 200 to a case to ensure the maximum number of persons possible are helped with every order! Similarly, every order of our regular or deluxe sleeping bags provides a soft, warm, waterproof sleeping bag for homeless and displaced persons who need a shelter from the harsh winter elements.
DONT GET COLD FEET!
With a wide assortment of adult mens, womens and childrens beanie hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, and socks in bulk, there is no reason that any person, especially any family or child, should be cold this winter, or should not be able to protect themselves against the brutal winds, freezing rain, and snow that we all know is coming.
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