Donations working to help families access food at Christmas
An energy service will be providing the funds for a church foodbank to help more people to get the food they need at Christmas.
West Bromwich’s Utilita Energy Hub will be providing vital funds to the Excel Church Foodbank in Bilston through Utilita Energy's national initiative.
The initiative will see Utilita Energy donate a penny every time one of its 830,000 customers completes an online top-up, with the money added to a central fund.
The money raised will be divided between the nine Energy Hubs across the UK, with West Bromwich's share going towards Excel Church & Salma Foodbank.
It is a continuation of the partnership between the Energy Hub and Excel Church, which sees members of the Hub offer advice and services at the church on a weekly basis.
Ashley McIntosh, Utilita Energy Hub manager said: "With all the setbacks caused by the pandemic, for many people every penny counts right now, so it’s great to know that our own customers’ actions are going to impact the lives of others.
"While the cost of wholesale energy continues to rise, we continue to do everything we can to help those locals who come into the Energy Hub, by helping them to identify where energy savings can be made, without feeling they are going without.
"Over a year, there are £163 of simple savings to be made, which will offset the latest price increases."
Hamesh Raj, Excel Church Foodbank co-ordinator, said: "Staff from Utilita Hub based in West Bromwich have volunteered with us since February 2021 .
"They have supported Excel Church Food Bank every week by delivering emergency food parcels to families and individuals.
"The team has also assisted in collecting donations on our behalf and played a major role in distributing food parcels and hot meals to families during the summer holidays.
"The entire team at the Utilita Energy Hub volunteers to help, which enables us to outreach to many more families and individuals.
"This donation and the team’s volunteering efforts will support our Christmas Hampers Outreach Campaign during December, getting hampers, gifts, and turkeys to families over the Christmas period and we can’t thank Utilita enough for that."
