Our next featured charity for November Good Causes is Dorchester Family Support – they want to provide a Christmas Hamper to around 200 families in need this year, and hope to add a small gift of £10 voucher or similar if possible.
“We have been in operation for several years to provide support during school holidays for families whose children are in receipt of free school meals. We became a registered charity in March 2020.
In August this year, we supported over 180 families each week for six weeks with a food parcel containing fresh food (mince, cheese, potatoes, carrots, etc.) and non-perishable food (rice, pasta, cans of tomatoes, etc.). We operated from and with the support of Thomas Hardye School.
The cost of the food was just under £18,000 and the money was provided by charitable trusts, churches and individuals. Our other expenses are minimal.
This Christmas, we are providing a parcel containing Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, biscuits, sweets, etc. In previous years we have received food gifts from pupils at THS, but this may not be possible this year because of Covid. We may therefore have to purchase more goods from our own funds. We are also preparing for an increase in the number of families needing support.
We are working with partners to look at ways of providing additional help by giving each family some form of monetary help to purchase food and any further donations we raise will support this proposal.
John Weir, DFS Treasurer
To find out more and donate, please click here to visit the website.
