LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR CLUB ERGC

If you are a MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC in EMERGENCY FOOD NEED and living within East Renfrewshire, please contact the local authority Health and Social Care Partnership HSCP on 0141 451 0800 as they work alongside the excellent Trussel Trust ER Foodbank 0141 881 8250 or info@eastrenfrewshire.foodbank.org.uk to ensure no one in ER goes hungry, and they do a wonderful job serving our community.

 

During the Covid 19 pandemic, you can also call the national helpline on 0800 111 4000 and they would be directed to the appropriate support.

 

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR CLUB LYNC ERGC

 

Love Your Neighbour Club LYNC ER

We do not provide Emergency Food Aid to individuals in need.

 

We aim to provide non-emergency toiletries/household cleaning products and non perishable food, to deserving, low income households, as identified by trained frontline housing/health and social etc. workers to show we care, and raise the local standard, over and above existing state provision. In following the founders personal Christian faith, we aim to Love any of our East Renfrewshire neighbours from any faith and none.

 

If you are a FRONTLINE WORKER please download, fill in, and email the form to info@ergoodcauses.co.uk

 

DONATING POINT FOR HOUSEHOLD CLEANING TOILETRIES - ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND - GIFFNOCK BRANCH

 

 

 

We aim to deliver multiple bags to the clients address, using volunteers from ERGoodCauses, and hope to do this within 10 days of receiving each grant application.

 

 

 

 

 

Family Activity Pack

 

This activity pack is aimed at low income households that may lack the financial means to provide some basic activities to encourage children to develop and learn through play and enhance household bonding within family units. The pack has an approximate retail value of circa £50 and is an additional offering through our Love Your Neighbour Club (LYNC).

 

 

 

 

Note - Background and partnership with Maxwell Mearnscastle Church - read here.

 

MAXWELL MEARNSCASTLE CHURCH - our ERGC STORE partner

 

The ERGC Store is able to operate thanks to both the free storage and volunteer distributors from the Maxwell Mearnscastle Parish church, located in Newton Mearns - to learn more about the church please see the link to their website Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church and see their youtube channel below.

 

 

Love Your Neighbour Club LYNC - Donors/Supporters

East Renfrewshire Good Causes has an ongoing charity partnership with the homebuilders behind the Maidenhill development - CALA Homes (West), Miller Homes Scotland West, and Taylor Wimpey West Scotland. The consortium pledged to make a 'roof donation' for every home purchased within the first and second phases of the development, with over £18,000 set to be donated over the course of the partnership.

 

ERGC Store - Volunteer Distributors

Distribution partners leaflet (pdf).

 

Throughout the pandemic Family First have requested LYNC packs for approximately 70 families.

 

These families were identified due to the difficulties they were experiencing financially, practically and emotionally with the impact of lockdown and the pandemic and the additional stress this placed on family life, routines and money.

 

The families fell into a number of categories including

• single parent households
• families in receipt of benefits
• affected by recent redundancy
• families with ASN children and
• families experiencing poor mental wellbeing

 

Family First worked with a variety of agencies to support these families through these difficult times including, MART, Citizens' Advice, Social Security Scotland and Work East Renfrewshire but the very practical, prompt and personalised LYNC had a very positive impact on families and complimented the other supports they received. Feedback from families has been exceptionally positive

 

In particular families told us that receiving a LYNC pack:

• Reduced pressure on their income/benefits which went a little bit further.
• Provided them with items they had often had to go without during the pandemic in favour of food (eg. Toiletries)
• Reduced shopping pressure of carrying bulky items especially when shopping with young children.
• Helped restock their cupboards and made their grocery items last longer.
• Gave a much needed boost to their wellbeing.
• Made them feel valued and cared about especially having this pack delivered to their door by caring volunteers.

 

'I am a single parent with 2 girls, struggling with the pandemic. Thanks so much for the work you do for struggling families. The LYNC helped pick me up when I was at my lowest point. Realising that people cared so much about me and my girls was so important. Having these items took pressure off my limited budget for several weeks. Thank you so much for helping my family and for making a difference. Keep up the good work.'

 

Thought I would drop you and your team a quick note to thank you for all your financial support (and all the Chromebooks) throughout this challenging year. I think I said this last year, to little avail, but let's all hope that this time next year things will be on the mend. Certainly our school is in a better place.

 

Best wishes to you and everyone at Good Causes from everyone at Woodfarm High School. Regards, Richard Phelan, Social Justice Manager, Woodfarm High School, Robslee Road, East Renfrewshire, G46 7HG.

 

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ERGC the STORE - previously

 

What is the ERGC Store?

The store is a way of frontline workers providing additional food and toiletries to individuals in ER, who are trying to help themselves. The store has items of non-perishable basic food and personal/household cleaning items that have been donated to ERGoodCauses by the public, groups and business partners.

 

Purpose of the ERGC Store

The store aims to raise the local standard by "Loving our Neighbours" through providing an additional "gift bundle" whose value will exceed £30+ of food and toiletries, to people who are deserving of additional support. Note - The current welfare state and the excellent "Trussell Trust ER Foodbank" are aimed at providing emergency "food need", and the ERGC store will provide gifts, "over and above" the current welfare state and Foodbank provision.

 

Typical Contents of a gift from the ERGC Store

 

Jan 16 - Toiletries and food gift - Approximate Value £30+

• 4 bars of soap
• 2 shampoo
• 2 shower gel
• 2 hand wash
• 6 toilet rolls
• 2 deodorant
• 2 Toothbrush
• 2 Toothpaste
• 15 varied tinned food items
• 5 dried food items

Note - we have little control over what people donate to us, and whilst we shall try and pick as varied a selection of food as possible, there may often be an abundance of a product, based on what we have been donated.

 

 

Quote from Social Worker
"The help that our clients receive from ER Good causes is a blessing and is very much appreciated by all. A lot of clients face many challenges, whether that be unemployment, housing issues, health and low income. Many seek help from our Social Work department and are provided with food bank vouchers or electricity and gas top ups. Recently we have been able to offer them addition goods from ER Good Causes, this includes food bags, toiletry packages, high street shop vouchers, even a bicycle which helps our client commute to work. There is a continuous need for donations in the East Renfrewshire area and without the generosity of our local community; many of our clients would be struggling. We are all very grateful for the support we are receiving from ER Good Causes".

 

How the ERGC Store Works

Trained frontline professionals and other trusted workers at the "coal face" of our own ER community, identify folk and approach the ERGC Store to access a "gift bundle" for their client.

 

Target Client Group

The following are a few examples of the client groups we are aiming to try and show a bit of care and compassion.

 

1 - In East Renfrewshire, there are currently more than 25+ individuals whose ages range from 16 to 25 years, who have no family support or networks and the state, by law, acts as a "corporate parent". Many of these individuals will typically have grown up in council or foster care due to being orphans, parent/s unable to care due to substance misuse, mental and physical health break downs or where "kinship caring" relationships have failed, to name just a few reasons. These often isolated individuals are generally provided with a bedsit or very small flat and exist on £59 per week, of which the first £10 goes on gas and electric cards.

 

2 - In East Renfrewshire, there are over 60+ "sparsely furnished temporary units of accommodation" (houses/flats/bedsits) spread over Eaglesham, Clarkston, Busby, Giffnock, Thornliebank, Barrhead, Neilston and Newton Mearns. These units are used for homeless families, individuals, whilst the council attempts to find permanent tenancies. The individuals residing in these temporary flats/houses are often in great need and may have absolutely nothing, This may be for example, due to bankruptcy, unemployment, poor physical or mental health, or maybe domestic breakdown or fleeing domestic abuse, so a gift of extra "food/toiletries" can go a long way when someone may be at one of their lowest points in life. Note - The Scottish Government passed legislation which requires all local councils to provide a "roof over a person's head" to prevent people having to "sleep rough".

 

3 - Low income households with possibly one 1 low wage earner, or no wage coming in due to disability or having to be a full time Carer for a disabled child, spouse, parent or other maybe elderly family member.

 

The ERGoodCauses store aims to "Love our Neighbours" in East Renfrewshire, and particularly targeting help at those who are trying to help themselves and/or others around them. By providing a £30+ gift of food/toiletries to a low income household, can allow existing money to be diverted to buy a pair of school shoes or clothing.

 

 

 

Where is the ERGC Store Room based? (not open to the public)

Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church in Newton Mearns has been good enough to provide ER Good Causes ERGC the storage and sorting space within the church buildings. As "Loving Your Neighbour" is one of the major principle of Christianity, and is also a driving principle of ERGoodCauses, this "free of charge" space has enabled ERGC to carry out this principle of Loving Our Neighbours in a practical way within our local East Renfrewshire area, and ERGC is very grateful for this practical support from this church.

 

Where do the food/toiletries come from?

The food/personal and household cleaning items come via donations from the public, groups and businesses. The cleaning products to start the toiletries side of the store came from the following groups in late 2015:

 

• "Sell & Swap Clarkston" and the "Mearns Gossip Girls" Facebook groups
• "Sounds International" singing group collection
• "Maxwell Mearns Castle Church" congregation
• "The East Renfrewshire leisure trust" staff collection

 

To mention and thank a few of the many.

 

How Can You Help

The 4 Royal Bank of Scotland branches in East Renfrewshire, located in Giffnock, Netherlee, The Avenue Shopping Centre in Newton Mearns, or Barrhead, all have ERGoodCauses donation collecting bins within store. If you would like to donate any non-perishable food like dried pasta and sauces, cereal, biscuits, tinned meat/fish/vegetables/soups/sweets etc as examples, and any household or personal cleaning products like shampoo/soap/washing up liquid/toilet rolls or other similar items, please place them in the collecting bins within the bank branches.

 

If we can all pull together and "do our little bit" by donating all year round, we can collectively raise the standard for our neighbours who are trying to help themselves. Thanks in advance for your ongoing support, and helping ERGoodCauses to "Love our own Neighbours" in our own area.

 

Russell Macmillan - Founder of ERGoodCauses - 2nd January 2016

 

 

 

Russell and Yvonne (photo below) delivering a boot full of toiletries to Overlee House for distribution amongst the many homeless living in temporary accommodation across ER. In the floorspace and back seat of the car, is another load of toiletries going to the East Renfrewshire Domestic Abuse project, who will distribute goods amongst women and children who are fleeing domestic abuse.

 

 

The bags of food and toiletries in the photograph below were received in December 2017 from Broom Church congregation, Broom Church Guides and Brownies, Mearns Primary School, 145th Giffnock Scout Group and Sounds International choir group.

 

 

 

Note - In the unlikely event that we are unable to distribute the ERGC Store gifts within East Renfrewshire, any excess products may be distributed into deserving causes/groups in neighbouring authority areas - most likely Glasgow. However, we expect there to be plenty of demand for these gifts within our own East Renfrewshire area.

Russell Macmillan - Founder of ERGoodCauses

 

Distribution Partners Leaflet Example