Our first agency volunteering day with Trussell Trust Kingston

At the end of last year, I was excited to announce our new fifth value: Do Good. This value focuses on how we can make a positive difference to our clients, community, and society, and support movements that make change.

I’m really passionate about living more sustainably and supporting charities close to my heart, so I didn’t hesitate to lead our Do Good agency initiatives.

Assisting our local Kingston community is really important to Wildfire, and we have centralised our social responsibility efforts through a partnership with Trussell Trust Kingston. Over the next 12 months and beyond, we will be volunteering, raising money, and donating in-demand food and hygiene products.

Taking Action for a Just Future

For those who don’t know, Trussell Trust is working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK, which is only more prevalent right now.

The charity provides food banks and extended services to support local communities in times of crisis. Long term, it is working to help people break free from poverty and resolve the crises they face so they don’t need to use a food bank again in the future.

To support this goal, Kingston Trussell Trust works with City Changer Projects and the Your Local Pantry franchise to provide a next step for people to move away from relying on a food bank. Food is available on a membership basis at a subsidised cost, and fruit and vegetables are always free to assist healthy eating.

Building a Fairer Society Together

In August 2022, Kingston received a location for its first pantry within Tolworth Recreation Centre. The new Kingston Food Pantry Manager, Susan Bence, had a big task on her hands and just one month to renovate the space!

While Trussell Trust has an army of regular volunteers, it needed ‘all hands on deck’ to transform the unloved area into an inviting, modern food store — and we were keen to help. The space had previously been used for storage and a staff lunch area and needed some serious TLC!

On one of the hottest days of the year, we scrubbed, hoovered, scraped, painted, built furniture, and more. In just one day, the area was transformed, with new shelving, crates, appliances, and produce areas ready to go.

A New Food Pantry Opens

Following our whirlwind renovation, pantry manager Susan supervised the fitting of a new sink, painted a beautiful mural, and installed a unit her husband made for the fresh fruit and vegetables.

Now, every Thursday, members of the Kingston Food Pantry can visit Susan and take that step from using the food bank to choosing from the pantry produce, and hopefully then shopping in supermarkets in the future.

I’m really proud of how our team came together to make such a big difference in our local community in just one day.

Stay tuned for more of our activities with Trussell Trust and individual charity work my colleagues are passionate about coming soon.