Housing trust appeals for “last push” Christmas Hamper donations

A Derbyshire housing trust providing accommodation to hundreds of people who might otherwise be homeless is appealing for “last push” donations to ensure all its residents get a Christmas hamper this year.

Derventio Housing Trust, which provides housing for around 330 people in Derby and Derbyshire, and another 90 in Staffordshire, has teamed up with award-winning gifting company Colleague Box to create special Christmas hampers for its households.

The idea behind the campaign is to ensure that residents living in Derventio homes – many of whom may not see any family at Christmas time, and have many challenges in life including struggles with mental health – can experience some of the magic of the festive season.

Businesses and organisations to have lent their support include Swadlincote-based Midland Lead, which donated 12 Derventio boxes as part of its ’12 Days of Christmas’ project. As they have in previous years, Ripley Academy has also donated many festive boxes to help Derventio ensure all residents are being looked after this Christmas.

One Derventio resident, Darren Cox, whose story has been featured on local news, told Ripley Academy sixth form students that when he received one of their boxes last year it had made him feel very special.

He said: “You don't know how much it meant to me. It might only look like a packet of biscuits, but it was so great for me to sit down and dunk a biscuit in my tea. And it meant someone had thought of me too.”

Jackie Carpenter, assistant director of strategy at Derventio, said: “We’ve been so happy with the support we’ve received for our Christmas hamper appeal. We are very grateful to Adam and Natalie Bamford from Colleague Box for creating a special Christmas box for our appeal and we’d be very grateful if any organisations or individuals feel they may be able to donate some of these boxes so that our residents feel special on Christmas day.

“Christmas is a time of giving but it can be a sad time for lots of people, including residents of Derventio households, who feel they are missing out on this festive time of year through lack of funds and also not seeing family. Giving them a Christmas hamper will make a huge difference to many people’s mental wellbeing so it would be brilliant to see our project supported.”

Natalie Bamford, who with her husband Adam set up Colleague Box – recent winners of Start Up Entrepreneur of the Year for The Midlands at The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards - said that the business was delighted to be working with Derventio Housing Trust.

Natalie said: “Community is important to us and when Derventio first approached us about being involved in creating these special boxes, we knew that it was something we would love to be involved in. These gifts will have a huge impact on the lives of those needing the support and it is a real honour to be involved.”

Penny Wiltshire from Derventio Housing Trust said: “With our Christmas Hamper campaign we would like to give residents some luxuries to help them feel they are part of the festive season too. When money is tight and you need to buy essentials, even treats like a packet of biscuits or a little box of chocolates are simply unavailable. We hope businesses and individuals will help give people a little bit of Christmas cheer this year by donating to our campaign. Many people can’t imagine spending Christmas on their own but that’s unfortunately the reality for some residents. Many people really don’t have much, so we know how much of a difference these hampers will make.”

To donate to the Derventio Housing Trust Christmas Hamper appeal, see https://www.colleaguebox.co.uk/derventiofestivetreat