BMet joins national festive community campaign to help local food banks

Students and staff across BMet’s colleges are getting into the community and festive spirit by fundraising for local foodbanks, as part of the national #festivefefoodbankfriday campaign.

BMet (made up of James Watt, Matthew Boulton and Sutton Coldfield Colleges) has joined forces with FE organisations across the country to support the cause – set up in response to the sharp decline in foodbank donations during Covid-19.

The charitable initiative will mean that millions of people in the Birmingham area will benefit from much-needed monetary donations and essential items as Christmas approaches.

The BMet community are planning fundraising activities to raise donations to support local foodbanks. Among other things, specially branded donation stations have been set up in the entrances of the college sites to collect a variety of goods.  General monetary donations are also being promoted to raise funds via the campaign’s #festivefefoodbankfriday JustGiving page.

Gerard Goshawk, Minister and Chair of Trustees and Foodbank Coordinator, Erdington Six Ways Baptist Church said:

“I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at BMet for this generous donation. It will make a massive difference to the hundreds of people we will provide food for up until Christmas. It will all go to people in need.”

Georgina Whateley, Community Projects Co-ordinator, Sutton Coldfield Baptist Church added:

“It is really encouraging to receive so many donations from the students and members of staff at Sutton Coldfield College, that will benefit so many people in and around the local area.

“We have noticed a real increase in people visiting our foodbank this year, from all backgrounds and “walks of life” due to Covid19, which is three times as many as this time last year. With donations like these, we are pleased to be able to help around 200 people a month, including many who need to use our services weekly.”

20 other colleges have also signed up to the re-launched campaign, which aims to collect 30,000 items (collectively) plus raising a further £12,000 on the #festivefefoodbankfriday JustGiving page.

The donated food and money raised so far is the equivalent to almost 6,000 items, which is enough to provide 258 three-day emergency food parcels.

Cliff Hall, Principal at BMet said: “It is a privilege and very rewarding for our college community to be able to take part in such a worthy cause, that will help thousands of people in the local area.

“We are living in extraordinary and difficult times and it’s really important that we rally together to help one another, especially as the Christmas period approaches.

“Positives can come out of every crisis and that is certainly what we are seeing at BMet, as we join other FE institutions to make a national difference.”

With six more Fridays to go before the campaign ends, there is still lots of time to donate a few items or make a donation. The national Just Giving page can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/FestiveFEFoodbankFriday

Look out for a series of fundraising updates on our BMet’s Twitter page.