Bro Celynnin supports 100 families and people in need with a monthly food shop, which has sadly become so necessary in these challenging times. The project started with our wonderful volunteer Lynn during the pandemic, who had heard that a number of families on furlough had been struggling to make ends meet. What started as around 20 Bags of Love a month, has now grown to 100, which is around 80 families and 20 other elderly, isolated or other people in need. With a small army of volunteers, and the incredible generosity of our local community and indeed those further afield, we hope to continue our mission as long as it’s needed. Diolch.
There are now collection points in Conwy Culture Centre and the Spar (Conwy), as well as all our churches, but we do also rely heavily on financial donations from our generous supporters. Every penny we raise from donations goes to filling our Bags of Love with food and other essential items for the people we help.
At special times of year, we try to include extra treats, or more specialist items. Generous public donations meant Easter Eggs were able to be included at Easter time this year, and we have at times been able to help some families with school uniform needs.
At Christmas-time, we were able to assemble bags with extra treats because of some wonderful donations. We are very thankful to our volunteers who always come to pack bags and make deliveries – and to Ysgol Porth y Felin for making Christmas cards! [people pictures below by Mandy Jones Photography and with thanks to Harlech Foodservice for their much appreciated donation]
If you would like to help …
There are collecting boxes in all our churches, the Conwy Spar, and Conwy library. In-date and non-perishable staples please! Cereal, pasta, rice, jarred sauces, tinned meats and vegetables, tea and coffee, sugar- the list goes on. Whatever you can leave at one of our donation boxes will support a family in need.
- You may also consider making a one-off or regular financial donation to this work. Please reference any online payments as ‘Bags of Love’. Diolch.
- We are always looking for volunteers to join our team to shop and deliver our bags of love. Simply contact us by e-mailing here.
Thank you, Ysgol Llangelynnin, for helping us pack!
Fundraising:
- Many thanks to Groundworks for their £200 donation!
- Thanks to Tesco (and all who voted for us via the token scheme), for their donation of £1500 and ongoing support. Also, to Spar for their monthly vouchers.
- The ‘green token scheme’ at Asda gave us a very helpful financial windfall. Similarly, thanks for those who helped and those who gave at the recent stall in Tesco, Llandudno Junction. Both of these things have increased our partnership working with businesses and increased visibility in our community, as well as helping us sustain this vital work.
- We are grateful for the continued support of the National Lottery Community Fund, who last year provided a £10,000 grant to help our families.
Hear ‘Bags of Love’ Co-ordinator Lynn Jones, talk about the project here (recorded in 2021):
caruconwy.com 