On Sunday 26th June a team of people from Christ Church Re-Store took to the streets of Bridlington to ‘Sing for your Supper’ in a bid to raise awareness and money to help respond to those most struggling in the town.
Christ Church Re-Store is a foodbank situated in the centre of Bridlington. From Jan to April 2022 they have given out 2256 food parcels to single people and families in need. Re-Store is a non-government funded food bank that is operating because of the generosity of individuals and the charitable giving from supermarkets. They have seen a huge increase in people accessing the service over the pandemic and especially in recent months with the cost of living crisis.
Re-Store is more than just a bag of food. In April 2021 Christ Church launched The Re-Store Hope Hub. The Hope Hub runs alongside the food bank and offers a space for people to access other types of support. People can get a food parcel and then come in to the main church building for cake, coffee and a chat. Through the Hope Hub people with substance misuse issues are able to talk about their options. The Hope Hub is able to refer people in to residential rehab or offer 12 step work within the community. The Hope Hub is a place of connection and relationship where isolated people are finding friendships and those who feel there is no hope and finding out there is.
One man who was living in his car in the pandemic and suffering with his mental health is now living in a flat, volunteering at The Hope Hub and working towards a brighter future.
Another man came to The Hope Hub whilst struggling with addiction, he checked in each week as he prepared for residential rehab. He has now been in a rehab facility one month and doing well.
Hope family Store is also an extension of Re-Store where parents can access children’s clothes and uniform. There is also a variety of groups each week to support families through ‘The Families’ team at Christ church.
The Re-Store team set up on King Street on the 26th June. A group of musicians played music and sang for 3 hours and others handed out leaflets and had conversations about the work of Re-Store. An amazing £226 was raised which will go towards the weekly shopping bill.
‘We want to thank everyone who donated on the day’, says Emma Miles, who leads a team in The Re-Store Hope Hub.’ It was a great day raising awareness and money for a great cause, and it was great to see the community of Bridlington getting behind us and donating so generously’.
If anyone would like to help they still can. Long life foods can be dropped off at Christ Church, Monday to Thursday 9-12 or financial donations can be made via a QR code that is on the leaflets or the donation button on the Facebook page @ChristchurchRe-Store.
If anyone would just like to pop down and see the what we do we would welcome you and show you around.
‘We aim to do more stuff like this in the near future if any musicians would like to join us’, say Rev Oli Preston, Multiply minister for Bridlington. ‘It was a great turn out and we are thankful for the support we received and we would welcome more’.
