Can you help Emmanuel House with your spring clear out?
Emmanuel House is running out of clothes for homeless people. After a flurry of food and clothes over Christmas, donations are down. Our clothes store room and food shelves are starting to look comparatively bare.
And the recent cold spell has meant more people have been visiting Emmanuel House. Many more people who are rough sleeping have come to the door asking for warm clothes to help protect them from the rain and snow.
What we do with our clothes donations
Give out clothes to people who are homeless
We give out warm, dry clothes to people who are rough sleeping or in crisis. Access to clean and dry clothing is a basic human right, and one of the many solutions we offer from our support centre in Hockley. Most of the clothes we provide to clients are donated by supporters, however there is currently a higher need for more men’s boxer shorts and jogging bottoms. This means we are not able to supply everyone in need. If we don’t receive more clothing donations, we will have to buy additional clothing to give out, meaning an increase in costs for the charity.
Our most-requested items are men’s jogging bottoms, closely followed by men’s boxer shorts, gloves, t-shirts and shoes. Men’s trousers with 30–32-inch waists are ideal.
Coming to the support centre for a new set of clean, dry clothes is often the first step for someone getting the support they need. We recently spoke to one of our beneficiaries about the support they’ve been receiving over the past year.
They said: “I had recently moved into supported accommodation after sleeping rough in Nottingham. I was really low, drinking heavily and had no idea what to do.
“While I was sleeping on the streets, Emmanuel House was literally a life saver. It was somewhere I could go for a hot meal, a shower, warm clothes and even a sleeping bag. After I moved into supported accommodation, I met my support worker. In the 12 months I’d been seeing them, my mental health and attitude towards life had improved beyond belief.”
We also sell clothes in our charity shop to raise vital funds
We also sell good quality fashionable items of clothing and accessories in our charity shop and on our eBay page. The charity shop can make up to £250 a day and all the profits go straight to Emmanuel House.
What clothes do we accept?
Emmanuel House accepts the following items:
- Jeans (men’s sizes 30-34)
- Joggers (small and medium)
- Boxer shorts (new only, medium and large)
- Fashionable clothing
- Hoodies
- Shoes and boots
- Sleeping bags
- Socks
- Trainers (size 8-10 for men, size 5+ for women)
- T-shirts
- Waterproof jackets
- Women’s underwear (sizes 8-12/small-medium)
- Accessories – non-pierced jewellery, belts, handbags, hats & scarves
“Clearing out your wardrobe and cupboards of clothes you no longer wear is a free and simple way of helping to support people who are homeless in your community. This is the perfect time of year to do a bit of spring cleaning.”
Rosie Needham-Smith, Marketing and Fundraising Officer at Emmanuel House
Emmanuel House is open for donations every week day 9am-5pm. Please wash and dry your donations before donating them as we don’t have washing facilities for donations.
