It was a privileged day for the Newbury Soup Kitchen today, as we were invited to the opening of the brand new Southern Co-op store in Brummell Road. What’s more, together with officially opening the new store, we were presented with a £1,000.00 donation and a year’s partnership to include extra funds donated from the 5p charge for carrier bags.
Store manager Jamie Wheeler commented “It’s great to team up with Newbury Soup Kitchen and we believe it is a perfect fit as our chosen charity. It’s local to our store and has been set up by a very determined individual, Meryl. I visited the soup kitchen last Thursday to speak to Meryl, the volunteers and some of their regulars and everyone was so complimentary about what a great impact it has had since it was started in January this year. It was very humbling and sharing the experience and news of our chosen charity with the rest of the team has even brought some interest from our colleagues on how they can volunteer as well!”
Meryl Praill replied “Newbury Soup Kitchen is a team of volunteers from all walks of life with little or no experience – especially me. I just couldn’t bear knowing that these lovely people were going hungry. As a result of setting up Newbury Soup Kitchen we have become a happy place where people come for a chat, food and somewhere that they will be treated normally – there is a lot of laughter. We are thrilled to have been selected as the fundraising partner with this new Southern Co-op store. We have plans to put the money towards tents, rucksacks, sleeping bags and flasks and maybe even mobile shower facilities and general support in the future.”