Make a difference - donate to a food bank - pretty please

Last Thursday was National Kindness Day, and I saw an instagram picture on a fellow bloggers page, and the ensuing conversation that followed on her Facebook post. This lovely lady, TheBoyandMe donates regularly to her local food bank and it made me do some thinking, and I decided I needed to do something. The plan was made on National Kindness Day, the actual act will take a bit longer. You can read about her act of kindness here. 

I don't have a huge income but I get by with careful budgeting. We don't go hungry or cold and for that I am grateful. I have to say in years gone by I have reached desperation stages, I have cried over not being able to afford my rent, I have worried about where the next penny is coming from, lost sleep over how I was going to replace my car when the one we had failed its mot to the extent it was not financially viable to spend another penny on it. I am very thankful that I have family to lean on, and if I need to borrow £20 until pay day to put petrol in the car, or borrow £100 to put two new tyres on the car I have others there who are willing to help out. But it really got me thinking about the people that don't have that.

So last Thursday my act of kindness was the decision to make a difference to those people who have nothing and nobody. It must be horrible to find yourself in a position where you have to rely on the kindness of strangers to put food in your children's stomachs. On the varying posts I read comments like "No idea what we would have done without them" " I received items from them and am determined to repay every one of them" " I was desperate and had nowhere else to turn"

Another friend on Facebook said "I drop an item or two off every time I am in Tesco" or "I take in a bag every month when I do my own shopping" How lovely these people are, and thank goodness for the likes of them.

So taking on board comments and ideas I decided to do a collection. I have asked around at work and some of the girls have said they will bring me something in. I do a relief cleaning job in a complex and some of the residents there have agreed to add to the total for me.

I have also started collecting Morrisons Christmas Bonus vouchers, and I can get £40 worth of shopping for only paying £15. I will see what I get handed in before I decide what I will spend that on. Hopefully some sweets and treats and some nice things that will make a difference to somebody in Christmas Week.

Food does not have to be expensive or name brands. We often eat supermarkets own brands in this house and the food bank will be grateful for them. I am told meat, tuna and main meals are really handy as well as soups and vegetables. .How about some filling rice pudding with a blob of jam in to finish off with?  Not to mention boxes of cereals, a bag of pasta, or what about a bag of lentils and some stock cubes so that somebody can make a pot of warming soup? Anything none perishable is much appreciated

But items other than food are also much appreciated, items I would never have thought of simple every day items we all take for granted like

toilet rolls 

  and

sanitary towels

How awful it must be not to have the basics like these. To have to decide if you spend money on these items something else will have to give. Nappies, baby wipes, soap, shampoo, or a tube of toothpaste will make somebodies week.

What about other items? We have a pair of trainers that Son No1 has worn once and will never wear again, and we have paired that with four pairs of white socks that are brand new. Nobody in our house wears white socks but this pack of ten were a great buy, so the four white pairs will get handed in along with the trainers.

Have a look through your children's toy cupboard. Did you buy the a jigsaw puzzle or a game or a toy last year that they have not looked at since? Another child who may other wise wake up to nothing would be over the moon with it.

I am doing my bit this year because I saw a friend share a picture of her donation. If by my writing this I can get even one other person to hand in an item or ten to their local food bank then it has been worth my time.

Please leave me a comment with a link to a picture if you hand something in because you read this, and I will happily share them, lets try and make a difference up and down the country.