United Against Hunger with the Trussell Trust

we recently visited the Colchester food bank with some brilliant news...

Nobody should be left hungry or forced to live in poverty.

 

That’s why we partnered with the Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest food bank charity, whose nationwide network of 1,300 food banks provides emergency supplies and compassionate support to people in hardship.

Not only do we support their wonderful work by providing them with FREE travel management services, but each of our six UK offices arranges monthly food donations and volunteering from our brilliant staff.

We caught up with some of them to find out more.

A Visit to the Local Food Bank

While the day-to-day work of the Trussell Trust is extremely valuable to thousands of lives, their ambition is to tackle the root causes of poverty and help create a society in which food banks are no longer a necessity – a world where people can thrive rather than survive.

This can only be achieved through the continued support of donors and volunteers from across the country. Our very own Lisa Hornsby, Supplier Revenue Manager, and Lisa Titmas, Team Supervisor, recently visited a food bank in Colchester just a few miles from our global HQ. With them was Chris Watling, our Account Manager at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, whose company had nominated the Trussell Trust for a generous donation as part of their charity foundation.

Lisa Titmas (far right) and Chris Watling from Enterprise (far left) with the Colchester food bank team.

Hi Lisa. Tell us more about your visit to the Colchester food bank.

“It was really eye-opening.”

“Lisa (Titmas) does an absolutely awesome job organising and delivering collections from the Colchester office to the Trussell Trust – usually once or twice per quarter. It was great to hear what difference our work makes.”

“We were thrilled to have Chris from Enterprise join us in our visit too. Enterprise has a charity foundation, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, where they nominate charities chosen by their partners to receive a donation.”

Via the foundation, Gray Dawes was able to secure two donations for the food bank – one for £2,000 and another of £2,500. We have also put them forward for another donation this year too.”

Food Banks supported in the UK

People live below the Poverty Line

Emergency Food Parcels Delivered

But the work of the food bank is not supported solely by generous monetary donations…

 

“We delivered a whopping 27.89kg of food too!” Lisa continues.

“This, alongside the amazing news about how much money we raised last year, created such a positive atmosphere.”

However, there is still so much work to be done.

“During our visit, we were told that this year the Colchester food bank has seen a 26% increase in people through the door in need of help.”Sadly this coincides with donations dropping by 38%, meaning that every donation is critical to them.”

Even small acts of generosity can make a big difference. A few of our Colchester-based team recently volunteered on behalf of the Trussell Trust, visiting a local supermarket to help raise awareness of the food bank. And there’s plenty that you can do to help in your local community too.

 

Jake Baker from the Gray Dawes IT team volunteering for the Trussell Trust at the local supermarket.

Related Articles

A Guide to Europe’s New Entry/Exit System

A Guide to Europe’s New Entry/Exit System

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a new electronic system implemented by the European Union to strengthen and streamline border management across the Schengen Area. It replaces the traditional passport stamping process with a digital system that records the entry and exit data of non-EU travellers. Read more about it in this comprehensive guide for business travellers.

A Day In The Life of a Senior Sales Manager

A Day In The Life of a Senior Sales Manager

With a sales career that started in finance and blossomed in business travel, Phil Gardener is an experienced industry veteran with plenty of stories to tell. In this article, we chat with Phil about his day-to-day responsibilities as a Senior Sales Manager at Gray Dawes, his ultimate career highlights, and a random appearance on a British TV dating show…

San Francisco: A Business Traveller’s Guide

San Francisco: A Business Traveller’s Guide

Are you planning on travelling to San Francisco for work? In this comprehensive guide to San Francisco for business travellers, we delve into navigating the city’s unique corporate landscape, offer our top tips for getting around, and pick out our top 3 things to see or do to make your trip unforgettable. 

CALL US

08448 553700
+44 (0) 1206 716111 (if outside the UK)

ALWAYS HERE

Mon – Sun, 24 hours a day

LET’S TALK

Fill in the form below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.