A newly-launched ‘Wrap Up Manchester’ campaign has received more than 1,000 donations of clothes to help homeless and vulnerable people this winter.
Initially, the Human Appeal campaign aimed to just collect coats, yet the generous people of Manchester not only donated more than 700 coats but added 400 other items including clothing, blankets, scarves and sleeping bags.
People could drop off their items or send parcels to any Safestore storage collection points including Manchester Central and Old Trafford, between November 7 and 18.
Human Appeal’s UK Projects co-coordinator Samra Said was overwhelmed with the response.
She said: “So many people donated. We emphasised that we wanted old, good quality, unwanted coats to give to those in need. People went above and beyond our expectations, items were ironed and neatly packed and we received two big boxes of brand new coats that still had the labels in.”
Homelessness in Manchester is a big issue, with figures rising nearly 50 per cent in the past year. There is expected to be a much bigger rise in April 2017, when under-21s will be prevented from claiming housing benefit in the UK.
Samra explained: “Manchester really needed something like this. I found there was a need after seeing the success of ‘Hands on London’ and wanted to bring something like that here. We are not handing out coats directly to people on the streets as we are encouraging vulnerable people to reach out to services for help, to get people off the streets for good.
“This is really important to me and I am sure for many others to help those in need too. We need to work with other organisations in order to make a difference.”
Quality checks were made by supporters, to separate men’s, women’s and children’s clothes as well as other miscellaneous items. Donations are due to be distributed next week to homeless shelters, elderly organisations, women refuges, children centres and other charities.
Supporters included Liberal Democrat candidates, John Leech and Charles Lawley, who helped to bag up all the items.
Mr Lawley explained: “I used to work in TV but fell out of love with it and wanted to do something a bit more rewarding – namely, working for a charity. I saw a vacancy at Human Appeal and saw that they did lots of great work abroad and wanted to grow their UK project and thought this is something I wanted to get involved with. I was lucky enough to get the job. I have been really keen to help the UK projects grow as I believe it doesn’t just show what great work Human Appeal does, but the British Muslim community contributes to society.
700 coats and 370 clothes, blankets and sleeping bags for people on the streets in Manchester this winter for our #WrapUpMCR campaign. pic.twitter.com/qa3fyM499v
— Human Appeal (@HumanAppeal) November 22, 2016
Human Appeal is an international development and human relief charity based in Manchester. Its work has impacted 25 different countries, helping with homelessness, emergency aid and also supporting refugees.
Mr Lawley said: “I feel so encouraged and very surprised. It was the first year for Wrap Up Manchester, so we didn’t really know what the response would be like. Now we know this campaign works, I am counting down the months until next year now and want Wrap Up Manchester 2017 to be even bigger and better.”
The scheme could also be expanded into other cities including Birmingham and Glasgow next year.
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