The Booth Centre’s Harvest Appeal 2020
In March, some team members joined forces to form the ESP Charity Group. From then, we put a variety of charities to the wider team to pick our Charity Partnership for 2020. The Booth Centre was the reigning charity, and we were so glad to support such an amazing organisation. They’re a community centre run with and for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It’s a space for people to build their confidence, skills, and their lives.
The temperature’s dropping, the days are shorter, there are less people on the street, and even less people carrying cash or change. Those that are homeless are more at risk than ever. With a third of the team going on furlough and not many of us being in the office, we found it difficult to support the Booth Centre in the way we wanted to. Then, in came the Harvest Appeal! The Booth Centre kickstarted a Harvest Appeal initiative and with people beginning to sporadically work in the office, it was the perfect way for ESP to support the cause.
As our office pool table is sadly out of action (Covid, what else), we turned it into our Harvest food donation hub. After a couple weeks, the day had come – the pool table was FULL! What a beautiful sight!
The brains behind the ESP Charity Group, Georgia and Aleyna, visited the centre to drop off the donation (after a lot of struggle getting it all into Georgia’s car!)
We were warmly welcomed by volunteers with immense gratitude. It was clear how far acts of kindness go for small charities who rely on food donations. Currently, the centre is a bit quieter than the last time we visited. Last time, there was a contagious buzz about the place that was down to the array of activities they had going on in the dining room-turned-activity area. While the dining area is out of bounds, there are still plenty of activities going on upstairs that support creativity, upskilling, and looking to the future. These activities include painting, gardening, Job Club, skills session, sewing, creative writing, and drama. The centre have also adapted to providing free and healthy packed meals.
There’s still an optimistic and uplifting vibe that we don’t think would ever dull at the Booth Centre! It’s a fantastic place. One of the truly amazing aspects of the centre is a lot of the people working or volunteering there are current service users or have been in the past.
