‘Charity begins at home’, or so the saying goes.  But for those people who find themselves without a home charity is even more important, and with this in mind colleagues at Bents Garden & Home have been busy creating and collecting Christmas gift boxes for the homeless.

A request went out to colleagues to donate a Christmas Gift Box containing usable items which could be easily stored, used or eaten, and over 70 boxes have now been delivered to the Homeless Support Project in Leigh.

According to the Homeless Support Project, there are currently 20 people living on the streets in Leigh, all of whom will be visited by volunteers from the charity and will benefit from one of the gift boxes.  The remaining boxes will be kept by the Project and donated to hostels and made available to those people who do not have a fixed residence.

Says Kim Orson, HR Adviser at Bents Garden & Home: “Most of us take our lives and what we have for granted.  We are the lucky ones but there are people out there who won’t be able to go home for Christmas.  They will be outside, hungry, cold and alone and it is those people who we hope - in a small way - to help with these Christmas Gift Boxes.”

The idea was inspired by the reverse advent calendar initiative, but instead of donating an item a day, the gifts were brought together in a wrapped box ready to be given out on Christmas Day.

Says Kim: “Everyone deserves a gift at Christmas and the response to this campaign from our colleagues has been incredible.  We were delighted to be able to deliver so many gift boxes and hope they will make a few people smile over the festive period.”