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Resource Centre Assistant, Helen Fisher, explains:

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‘I don’t know about you but I love Christmas and on the 15th of December we had a great day at the Resource Centre.

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In the morning we went to Torsion, a building company which has been collecting food for us for a while. When we arrived we were greeted by Gareth (pictured below with his team) and he took us upstairs in their Portakabin. Tables were filled with £500 worth of food and toiletries which they and other companies they knew had collected for us. It was amazing. Their staff helped load the van and we were off.

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Then it was round to The Hive, a college for young adults with special needs. For a number of years they have sent students to us to help date food and put it on the shelves - we would not be able to cope without them. But this time it was our turn to visit them for their Christmas Fayre. We bought soap, candles and cakes which they had made. Ruth showed us around and we learnt how students are helped progress into the world of work. Volunteering at the Resource Centre is their first step, helping students gain confidence and meet new people. One of the young ladies who comes had become very upset when we had run out of sugar. She told her parents who then donated some sugar, other food items, selection boxes and toys and we thank them very much.

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The next stop was for our Christmas meal at the Care Centre which finished off the day perfectly. The meal was amazing, especially the trifle which was enormous. We took half of it back to our church where everyone enjoyed it .

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Before Christmas and in the new year we collected Reverse Advent Calendar boxes of food and toiletries from so many people. Link Engineering decorated theirs with ribbons and snow, Bromsgrove Baptist Church with beautiful red bows. Small Heath Leadership Academy wrapped theirs up with messages of hope and love.  There was Riverside Education and Newbury School too. One day we thought Father Christmas had come early when two red sacks full of food appeared - from Quinton Church. We had boxes from Northfield Baptist, Ridgeacre  Methodist, Fatherless Barn Church, Bilston Baptist, Spring Meadow Baptist and Marston Green Gardening Club.  Pelsall Evangelical Church had so many to deliver they had to come twice. There were Harborne Baptist Church, Monyhull Church, Streetly  Evangelical Church and some ladies who used to work in Woolworths in Sutton Coldfield.

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There will be others whom I have missed, but a huge thank you to everyone for making Christmas last, as even now we are giving out the food and bags of sweets you donated and making people smile!’

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