Every year we choose a charity from our local community and spend a day trying to make the lives of the people who run that charity, a little easier.
This year, our London team visited the ‘Tin in a Bin’ charity in Wanstead – a local initiative that sees residents across Essex leaving a bin outside of their doors with food for those in need. The charity then collects that food and delivers it to five food banks, two hostels, 60 Afghan refugee families and two charities supporting vulnerable women who then distribute the food to many, many more.
During the height of the pandemic the Tin in a Bin charity collected the same weight in food as a double-decker bus and believe they have overtaken this milestone by a long stretch this year. The charity believes that no-one should go hungry and works around the clock to make good on that promise, which is why we decided to help.
As per advice, we contributed food, toiletries and household essentials to the value of what we would usually spend on Christmas cards and gifts. This we thought was a gift that keeps on giving and while we were supporting charities within London, our Co-Founder Tayyab Mohamed was making a difference much further afield.
Tayyab along with a few volunteers, spent the day visiting at least 50 families in Kerala who were selected by the local charity based on the severity of their recipients’ situations. The families who made this shortlist could not afford to eat three meals a day. Truly a dire situation in most cases consisting of vulnerable women, children, and families with terminally ill people unable to earn a living. The day was spent distributing food parcels and in doing so, we are told that the recipients could be fed for at least the next 30 days.
The collective initiatives in Wanstead and the provision of basic food rations for families in Kerala might seem small but can have an extraordinary impact on the recipients. In this season of giving, we aspire to continue trying our best to make any little difference in communities that we can in 2022 and beyond.
To find out more about either of our partner charities this season or to share your story of giving, please do not hesitate to get in touch via our Agreus and Friends Page which you can visit here.