What a warm hearted (and headed) finale to our Street Sleep. Following the 24 hours spent on the streets on the 1st of December by Richard Vellacott and myself, I was approached yesterday by Libby Hughes of the Powys Radnor Federation of Women's Institutes with an unbelievable offer of support for rough sleepers in Cardiff, 223 hats, 79 scarves and 16 assorted gloves, mittens and wrist warmers, to be precise! Libby said “as part of our centenary challenge we were determined ...that we wanted to put our combined skills to the test by crafting with a purpose, helping those, here in Wales, in serious need of our support.” Libby added “we are a small rural federation of just 25 Institutes with a membership of around 400. We are, however, a very active inclusive community, holding events in different locations across Radnorshire in order to involve everyone and to enable members to host events as well as attend as guests. New members are always welcome as are visiting members from other areas”. Receiving the kind donation today was Linda Pickles, a volunteer with Helping our Homeless Wales, who will ensure that the warm-wear gets to those in greatest need. Linda said “the timing of this fantastic offer could not have been better as temperatures plummet and those on the streets, in particular of our capital, struggle to keep warm. They, and we, very much appreciate the hard work and generosity of the Women’s Institute and, of course, the efforts of Cllr Jake and Richard on doing so much to bring this issue of rough sleeping to a wider audience and raising funds for our charity and the Great Tommy Sleepout”.
Cllr Jake added, “the fantastic news does not stop there, I have continued to collect donations from friends, colleagues and councillors at Powys in particular and have added £135 bringing the online total to date to £1,445 (with two days to go) plus £292 street collection giving a grand total of £1,737. And in her announcement at Full Council today Cllr Beverley Baynham, Chair of Powys County Council pledged to give a further £500 directly to the Helping our Homelss charity, meaning that our efforts have made £2,237 plus what Richard is continuing to collect leading up to his (our) further Great Tommy Sleep Out in March 2024.
Quite Simply, a massive thanks to everyone”.