In November 2013, Waitrose Northwood invited local homelessness charity, Watford New Hope Trust, to apply for a grant as part of Waitrose’s national ‘Tackling Isolation’ campaign. The campaign aims to tackle isolation at Christmas by funding charities’ Christmas meals, and other activities, for people who are disadvantaged. To the charity’s delight, they were successful in their application and were able to provide a brighter Christmas for their service users. In total, the charity received £1,150.

Each Christmas, New Hope provides several traditional Christmas meals across their services to make the day feel as festive as possible for those who would otherwise face a very bleak Christmas with no home, no food and no family. This Christmas, thanks to the generosity of Waitrose Northwood, the charity were able to really push the boat out and give 125 people who are homeless or vulnerably-housed an extra special Christmas.

Christmas is a difficult time for many of New Hope’s service users as it can be a reminder of happier times with friends and families. It is also a time when many remember the difficult times, perhaps which led to them becoming homeless. Difficult relationships can often be put under further strain, at Christmas, and it tends to cause painful memories of abusive and neglectful parents to surface. It’s also a very harsh reminder of what they don’t have.

As well as Waitrose, the charity also received increased donations of food and other goods from their regular corporate givers including Pret a Manger, Costco and Ocado. 

New Hope would also like to thank Waitrose Northwood for nominating them for their Community Matters scheme, which invites shoppers to support their chosen charity by putting a free token into the relevant box.