Morning everyone, here’s an opening line from Peter - one of our Freedom Project Coordinators:
“Life seems to be becoming harder, with so many struggling. Cost of living increases and the pace of life is leaving many left behind. Whether it be economically, digitally, low skills or aspirational, life is passing by with many falling into a grey existence.
Mustard Tree has been an oasis, bringing hope in a barren landscape. The inspirational stories we are privileged to hear on a regular basis is no credit to us, but to the resilience that people gain once they receive a supportive and encouraging environment.”
“It really opened my eyes – I thought that’s 100% for me”.
Anthony came to Mustard Tree after facing many obstacles in his life, including ill-health, bereavement, and homelessness. His experiences had left him lacking in confidence. Anthony joined The Freedom Project, with two goals; to help other people and to get back to his old self…
At the end of Anthony’s time on The Lab Project, Megan, a Mustard Tree Freedom Coordinator, visited to explain what the Freedom Project is and what it could offer. “It really opened my eyes – I thought that’s 100% for me”, said Anthony.
You can read Anthony’s full story here.
Graham Hudson: Angels
We wanted to say a quick and heartfelt thank you to everyone who turned out for Graham’s ‘Angels’ exhibition yesterday evening - it was a wonderful event which showcased our new Olive Branch Cafe beautifully.
Graham’s artwork is available to purchase here, with proceeds benefitting Mustard Tree.
Food Club Update
The impact of recent economic events are now beginning to reflect on our services. Visits to our Food Clubs in-particular have almost doubled since September last year, leaving us with a mammoth task to keep our shelves stacked and prevent individuals and families from going without essential food items.
We’re now asking for churches, community groups, businesses and schools to think of us if organising a Harvest collection this year. You can click here to find out how to support Mustard Tree over the period - thank you in advance to anyone who is able to help!
Click the audio at the top of the page or below to hear our CEO Jo speaking to ‘Hits Radio’ about bed poverty, food poverty and how the cost of living crisis is causing a surge in demand for our services.
Back to School
We’re also asking for Back to School donations of stationary and school uniforms for our Community Shops, expecting that families struggling to put food on the table will no doubt also be facing pressures around educational supplies - we’ve updated our Online Wishlist so donations can be sent directly to us!
5-Stars Rating
A special shout-out to our food team on achieving a 5 star hygiene rating, after a recent visit by the food standards agency! Jo had a few words to say about the attainment:
So proud of this dynamic team who have taken us from 4 to 5 stars rating for our Food services. Incredible achievement as we are a complex and busy place! We feed 1,500 families a week through Food Clubs, serve hundreds of people a day in our training kitchen and training café - all delivered by our 100 plus trainees p/a under this team’s management and support. Well done you lovely people!
Can you help us combat poverty and prevent homelessness?
If you enjoy reading our newsletter and want to support our work, the best way you can do this is by joining the Real 10k and setting up a regular gift to help keep our services running. We have an aim to recruit 10,000 donors - each giving £5 a month - to help secure our charity for years to come - and create lasting change across Manchester and Salford.
Please join us in this mission by clicking the button below.
To our partners who are already supporting us with a monthly donation, please share this newsletter with friends, family members and colleagues - and thank you so much for all your ongoing support. Your kind donations are vital for us to continue our work and much appreciated by us all.
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