Hackney Foodbank receives £25,000 donation from fundraising platform Omaze
Pat Fitzsimons, CEO of Hackney Foodbank and James Oak, CIO of Omaze outside Hackney Foodbank.
Hackney Foodbank has received a £25,000 donation from fundraising platform Omaze, after the completion of its latest house draw in London.
It’s hoped the donation will help the food bank meet increased demand and rising costs for staffing, volunteers and projects to deliver their services.
The cost of living crisis has put a great strain on Hackney Foodbank and they rely on the generosity of the local community and volunteers to keep the doors open.
With more volunteers needed, it’s hoped the donation will also help fund the role of their new part-time Volunteer Manager who is vital for ensuring they have enough volunteers each day to support the collection, sorting, packing and distribution of hundreds of much-needed food parcels.
Hackney Foodbank was launched in 2012 to provide emergency food to people in financial crisis or trapped in poverty and to signpost them to agencies who can help further. It serves a very diverse borough and caters to the wide cultural and religious communities in Hackney.
The charity has six food distribution centres and are feeding more than 600 people per week – up from just over 300 a week in 2022. One of their projects, the Lunch club - offers food support to children during the school holidays, feeding an average of 85 children over the school holidays. The Omaze donation may also help Hackney Foodbank fund increasing costs towards this project.
In December 2022, the number of visitors to Hackney Foodbank rose sharply and has continued to rise. In January this year 117% more families accessed the services compared to January 2022. The same period saw a 136% increase in the number of children aged 12-16 needing support.
The charity’s newest centre in Hackney Central specifically opens later in the day - between 6pm and 8pm - in order to support people who are in employment, but still find themselves facing difficulties with their finances.
Demand overall is continuing to increase as local people across Hackney are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. Yet food donations to the charity are falling.
Pat from Hackney Foodbank and James from Omaze standing with parcels in Hackney Foodbank’s warehouse.
Pat Fitzsimons, CEO of Hackney Foodbank, said: “This donation will make a massive difference for us - we hope to use it towards the collection, sorting and distribution of food, as well as for the vital support we give to all the volunteers that we depend upon.
“Times are harder than ever before – so when the team from Omaze came to the warehouse and told us they’d be making such a large donation, we were so thankful. Ultimately, we’d like a fairer society where food banks aren’t needed. In the meantime, we rely on the kindness of businesses and individuals to ensure nobody goes hungry.”
Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney, said: "That so many residents are dependent upon food banks in the capital of one of the largest economies in the world remains genuinely upsetting. We're indebted to the work of organisations like Hackney Foodbank and support them all ourselves as much as we can. On behalf of all those that use the food bank I say thank you for this donation from Omaze."
James from Omaze and Pat from Hackney Foodbank with the Hackney Foodbank van with parcels of food.
Omaze recently completed its third house draw in London – and is committed to leaving a lasting legacy in the communities where its Grand Prize houses are located - in addition to the main donation for its House Draw charity partners.
James Oakes from Omaze said: “The work that everyone at Hackney Foodbank is doing is truly inspirational, I had the honour of visiting their warehouse and seeing first-hand the receipt, sorting and packing and dispatch of the vast number of food parcels for people in need.
"We’re delighted to have made a contribution to such an important charity, we will continue to help more local causes in the areas where we host our house draws, wherever possible."
The latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw in London saw construction worker, Kevin Johnson from East London, win a £3,000,000 Victorian townhouse in Islington. The campaign also raised £2,000,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
Draw entries for the current Omaze Million Pound House Draw in Cornwall are available now at www.omaze.co.uk. The draw closes on Monday 1st May 2023 for online entries and Tuesday 2nd May 2023 for postal entries.
For full terms and conditions, see www.omaze.co.uk. No purchase necessary to enter. Over 18s and UK residents only.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
For further information or to request an interview with Omaze or Pat from Hackney Foodbank please contact:
Oli Goss: oli@olleygosspr.com / 0785 052 9550
Andrew Olley: andrew@olleygosspr.com / 0776 466 1842
About Hackney Foodbank:
https://www.hackney.foodbank.org.uk/
Hackney Foodbank defines people ‘in crisis’ as people who do not have, and are unable to afford, food or household items for themselves and those in their care. All its work is underpinned by its core values of compassion, dignity and equity and its approach has three main elements:
Relieving immediate hunger by providing access to food and household items. This allows people some headspace to consider what steps they may need to take to address their circumstances.
Increasing hope through conversations and connection to opportunities. No matter what is going on for people who come to the charity, they are welcomed without judgement and with the fundamental belief that it is possible to change the circumstances that lead to hunger, and break cycles of poverty
Increasing access to relevant support by connecting people to local organisations. The charity has seen first-hand that it can be very difficult to know where to start when people are seeking help, so it constantly keeps updated on what support is available locally and puts people in touch with organisations that can help their specific circumstances.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HackneyFoodbank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HackneyFoodbank
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hackneyfoodbank/
About Omaze UK: https://omaze.co.uk/pages/about-omaze
Omaze is an online fundraising platform that offers the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime prizes to support incredible charities. Since its launch in the UK in 2020, Omaze has raised £11,150,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust, British Heart Foundation, The Prince’s Trust, NSPCC’s Childline, GOSH Charity, Cancer Research UK, Alzheimer’s Research UK, RSPCA, Blood Cancer UK, Global’s Make Some Noise and Dogs Trust.
Omaze is listed on the Fundraising Regulator’s register of approved professional fundraisers in the UK and is committed to upholding good fundraising practice.