Plea for blankets and sleeping bags for the homeless
Plymouth Soup Run has appealed for donations of sleeping bags and blankets to hand out to the homeless in the run up to winter.
The plea came as volunteers who run the nightly support service ran out of donations to give out to those living on the streets.
After hearing of their plight, Cornish firm Total Energy Solutions immediately donated three brand new sleeping bags to help kick-start the donations.
Plymouth Soup Run is made up of a range of charitable organisations that collect donations of food, drink and warm clothing, prepare them and then take them out to the homeless on each night of the week.
Hilary Knight, spokeswoman for Plymouth Soup Run, said: “We ran out of blankets on Sunday night and that evening alone we delivered food and warm drinks to 93 people.
“This is just a reminder that there are a lot of rough sleepers out there at the moment, especially now as we’re approaching the colder climate.
“If people do have any unwanted blankets, sleeping bags new or old, we would be grateful for them.”
Total Energy Solutions, which specialises in helping businesses cut their energy bills, donated three brand new sleeping bags after hearing about the short supply.
Kathryn Carnegie, finance director of Total Energy Solutions, said: “We are a company that take great pride in supporting the tireless work of charitable organisations in the community in which we live and work.
“We were delighted to donate three sleeping bags which hopefully will help make life a little easier for someone in desperate need of help.”
Their donation came as a result of an appeal put out by one of their clients Barbara Bennett, a volunteer with Plymouth Soup Run, through Stoke Climsland Church, members of which gave another five sleeping bags.
Barbara said she was able to hand out Total Energy Solution’s three sleeping bags on Sunday night. She added: “I was talking to one man who had never had a sleeping bag before, he’s always had to manage with old blankets and cardboard. He said that he could not remember anyone giving him something that was brand new.”
If you can donate any unwanted blankets, sleeping bags or make other donations, please contact the Plymouth Soup Run on info@plymouthsouprun.org.uk or log on to www.plymouthsouprun.org.uk