Charities write back
Two fantastic organisations write back to In Kind Direct to tell us how your goods donations help their charity and the people they serve.
North Wilts Holiday Club
North Wilts Holiday Club provides summer activities and outings for young people with special needs and life limiting disorders throughout North Wiltshire. Over the first three years of being registered with In Kind Direct, the charity has received just over £13,000 in value of goods.
The charity is largely supported by volunteers and saving money is vital in being able to provide its services. Joanna Simpson, co-ordinating supervisor of the club explains:
‘The majority of the goods that we obtain from In Kind Direct are toys, nappies, toiletries and office equipment. Because of In Kind Direct, we are able to save huge amounts of money on these goods, especially the toys, which the young people are always very excited to play with.’
She continues ‘We have also been able to be quite imaginative and inventive and bought goods like sheets, crockery and clothes that we are able to use to create exciting art and drama activities.’
‘The generosity of the companies who donate to In Kind Direct has made a direct positive impact on the young people at the club. It has enabled us to make our money go further, providing more care and support for young people who otherwise have little or no alternative provision during the school holidays.’
‘Our huge thanks to In Kind Direct for enabling this fantastic service that supports charities like ours. You really do make a direct and immense difference to the work that we do with some very special children.’
Bell View – Belford
Bell View is a small Community-Based Charity located in Belford, rural North Northumberland providing a wide range of services, primarily to elderly people in the local area.
Bell View provides accommodation for day care, leisure, creative and social activities, specialist rehabilitation and therapeutic services. The charity’s main project is the Bell View Resource Centre - an integrated multi-use resource centre opened in 2005 – now used by an estimated 8,000 people per year.
The charity joined the network in February 2009 and has since ordered over £1,800 in value of products including cleaning products, stationary and household goods.
‘As a charity we aim to look after the pennies where we can - this is why we joined In Kind Direct – we haven’t been disappointed’ says Resource Centre Development Manager Paul Harrison.
‘We’ve ordered lots of the consumable goods we need to keep the centre running: toilet tissue, washing up liquid, serviettes etc. Some of these things used to cost a lot of money – for example we used to pay 3-4p per serviette. We’ve totalled up the savings we’ve made so far by using In Kind Direct and it comes to hundreds of pounds.’
‘We’ve been really impressed with the service and the savings we’ve made. We’ve now got a tighter reign over some areas of our budget. By saving on our overheads we’ve indirectly and directly got more to spend on other areas and new projects. This means we can do more for the people we help.’
‘More charities should benefit. The service really is appreciated’
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