Preston’s Promise has had a successful year giving back to the community, and supporting the homeless.
The non-profit community outreach group set up in November 2018 and has been on a mission ever since. The first of which happened in December 2018 with the successful, ‘Help the Homeless.’ This was when members of the public filled rucksacks with winter essentials to distribute to rough sleepers in and around Preston.
Their campaign moved further when they supported the Noor Food Bank, with ‘Bags of Hope’ campaign in February 2019. This was food donations from the public and local businesses.
The group got involved with Ramadan, when they prepared home cooked meals for students at UCLan and Abrar Academy.
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A spokesperson for the group, said: “The majority of students were very far from home, and we as Prestonians wanted them to know they have a family here in Preston too.”
Preston’s Promise then took it further with their new campaign, ‘Warm a Heart.’ The group spoke with rough sleepers and asked them what they would appreciate from the public. From this, they devised a shopping list and categorised the items.
They had three collections through December, with the first one taking place on December 1st, which was donations for new thermal and underwear distributed on the open market. Then on December 15th, boxes and bags of non-perishable food items were donated by the public.
A volunteer from Street Kitchens said: “We were overwhelmed by the generosity of Prestonians. The smiles on the faces of the rough sleepers spoke volumes. They were touched by the loving messages on the cards.”
Their final collection took place on December 29th, with the collection of pocket sized toiletries and feminine hygiene packs.
A representative of the group, said: “We are extremely grateful and express thanks to Madrasah Islam of Jamea Masjid Preston, for continuing to provide us with a drop off point for our collections. We would like to also thank Street Kitchens in assisting us with distributions.”
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What an amazing year for Preston’s Promise. Did you get involved with any of the donations this year? Let us know in the comments below.