In Kind Direct urges businesses to donate essential items to help families over Christmas

In Kind Direct is appealing to companies to help it support families who will be struggling over Christmas by donating essential items. With figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showing that the pandemic has caused 70% of families to cut back on essentials like food or electricity, 60% to borrow money and 50% to get pandemic behind on rent or other essential bills, it has highlighted as some of the most needed gifts this Christmas in its ‘Christmas with Kindness’ Christmas Gift Guide. Based on feedback from charity partners, the gift guide includes some of the key essential products that people are struggling to access during the pandemic. This includes basics like handwash, period products and cleaning supplies, but also important feel good products like toys and games. A number of corporate partners have already committed to supporting In Kind Direct this Christmas including: Cif is donating 250,000 anti-bacterial eco-refills. Always and Tampax are donating 2 million tampons and sanitary towels. L’Oréal has donated thousands of make-up, fragrance and skincare products. Carex has donated over 700,000 bottles of hand wash to In Kind Direct in 2020. Andrex is donating 250,000 toilet rolls. Rosanne Gray, CEO of In Kind Direct commented: “This pandemic has not been a “great leveller”. We might all be in the same storm, but we are not in the same boat. The coming months will bring new challenges and increased demand for essential products as more households manage tighter budgets. Our goal is to make giving and accessing life's essential products easy, to bring safety, imagination and joy to families this Christmas. “No one is immune to needing a helping hand. There is more for us to do, so we are calling on new and existing corporate partners to join us in making sure no one goes without essential products this Christmas.” An additional 864 charities have joined the In Kind Direct network since the start of the pandemic, with it estimating that 95% of its network have stayed open, with over half increasing their use of the service. 71% of its network have helped people to self-isolate or shield safely, while 62% have been providing essential care-packs, and on average, In Kind Direct saved charities almost £3,000 each from March – August 2020. Overall, by working with corporate partners, it was able to save its charity partners £11.7m against cost of product during the peak of lockdown March – August 2020, dispatching 16,322 orders to 2,639 communities.

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/3lJG5Ek