Sefton church receives donation to support families at Christmas time

The North West Community Fund scheme has donated £1,500 to a charity providing food and essential items to families in Sefton.

Linacre Methodist Mission and Community Centre is located close to Barratt Homes’ Sundial Place development on Lydiate Lane, and since 1985 has produced a number of projects, such as weekly low-cost lunches, playgroups and youth clubs.

Since 2013 has been working in partnership with the Trussell Trust and Sefton Foodbank. The community centre is now used as a Foodbank centre every Friday, allowing those in need to access to access free food parcels. They also provide their own supply of food for those in need that may not qualify for Foodbank vouchers.

Joan Cumming, a volunteer at Linacre Methodist Mission, said: “With lockdown in full swing, it became clear to us that we had more families in need than ever. In May this year, with the summer holidays approaching, we began distributing hampers to local schools.

“We gave out 85 hampers, feeding 100 adults and 244 children in the process. Sadly, there are schools in the area that have more families in need that we are able to cater for with our own supply, so we rely on contributions of food and toiletries from the community to help us reach more families in crisis.”

Through their own donations and food supply, the Mission estimates that they will be able to distribute 70-75 hampers to local primary schools in time for the Christmas holidays. The donation from Barratt Homes North West will allow the Mission to donate even more, helping as many families in need as possible over the Christmas period.

Robert Holbrook, Managing Director of Barratt Homes North West, said: “As one of the UK’s leading developers, it is really important that we support charities and local organisations in our surrounding area.

“The Linacre Methodist Mission is a great example of a small organisation going the extra mile for their community. Christmas can be a cause of stress for many, even more so during a pandemic. It is excellent that this organisation is going out of its way to help others during these unprecedented times.”

Joan continued: “We are so pleased that the North West Community Fund scheme supports local projects and activities at their grass roots. It’s so important that local causes are supported, now more than ever, as they can have a positive impact on local residents and the community.

“We’re very grateful for this grant from Barratt Homes. We know the school holidays and incurring extra food costs can be a challenge for many families, so this grant will enable us to help them and make things a little easier during uncertain times.”