Newground Together wins the Employment Related Services Association Employability Awards 2021

The award is in the Team of the Year – Crisis Management category for their work with Christians Together Calderdale at their foodbank in Halifax.

Together they delivered vital support for people experiencing food poverty at the height of the pandemic by:

- Dedicating over 1,558 hours to the foodbank

- Supporting over 4,650 people in Calderdale

- Securing over £20,000 of generous food donations from the public and businesses

- Making 57 journeys to local businesses to pick up donations

- Making hundreds of home deliveries to families and vulnerable people with health conditions

- Referring people to a number of other charities and agencies to help people access family support, financial support, emergency housing and mental health support.

Newground Together’s Employment and Skills Team responded to a plea of help from The Voluntary Sector Alliance in Calderdale. Charitable organisation, Christians Together Calderdale’s Gathering Place Foodbank needed assistance as many of their volunteers had too self-isolate. With not many volunteers available to deliver weekly food packs and increasing numbers of people needing help, Newground Together stepped in and offered assistance.

Under guidance from food bank volunteers and Christians Together Calderdale, the Newground Together team worked hard to keep the Gathering Place food bank open and the service continuously running.

Emily Pearson, Newground Together’s Community Programmes Manager, said: “We, along with the rest of the country, found ourselves in uncharted territory, we wanted to help in whatever way we could. The partnership happened overnight in super quick time. With nothing affordable on the shelves, the amazing generous donations from local businesses, time from the volunteers and support of the Voluntary Sector Alliance ensured a Calderdale wide coordinated response, to those most in need.

“Really any award goes to Christians Together Calderdale, we only helped for four months. They have been doing it for years and certainly taught us everything we know – A special

think you to all the volunteers and the staff who guided us through that time.”

To donate and support the work of the Gathering Place Foodbank visit: http://ctcthegatheringplace.org/donations.