How you can help!

Charity Donations

Help us to support our chosen charities with your donations this year. Everything you give makes such a big difference to those in most need.  

During 2024 in halls, the generous donations of our students: 

• Raised £55,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
• Provided over 300 sets of bedding for homeless shelters.
• Delivered 70 tonnes of clothing, shoes, and accessories to our partner charities.

In 2024, donations to SCRATCH (a charity supporting families living in poverty) included over:

• 500 duvets/pillows.
• 50 clothes airers.
  
• 100 clothes rails.
• 160 kettles/toasters.
• 60 irons.
• Various other small electrical appliances and crockery.

This year, you can help us go one better! When thinking about what items you no longer require when leaving halls, please consider donating unwanted food and clothing to help those in need. Full details of our halls collection points can be found below. 

Together we can make a difference! ​​​​​​​  ​​​​​​​

What can I donate?

Food items 

• We accept long-life, non-perishables, such as: pasta, baked beans, cooking sauces, cereals, crisps, biscuits, and soups
• All food items must be in-date and unopened

Clothing items

• We accept: men's/women's/children's clothing, shoes, socks, jewellery, accessories, bags, hats, scarves, and gloves.
• All clothing items must be clean and free from damage.
• Place clothing in a plastic bag before placing in one of our donation banks.

Kitchenware and domestic appliances: 

• We accept kitchenware and domestic items which are clean and free from damage.
• Our charity partners — SCRATCH, New Life Domestic, and Two Saints — welcome donations of: kettles, toasters, lamps, irons, crockery and cutlery, saucepans, kitchen utensils, towels and tea towels, washing up bowls/drainers, clothes airers/rails, and hairdryers.

Where can I donate food and clothing?

For further advice, please contact your site reception.

Where can I locate my local food bank?

Meet our charities!  

British Heart Foundation: 

Our vision is a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases. We raise money to research cures and treatments, so we can give people more time with the ones they love.

Heart attacks that strike without warning, strokes that shatter futures, newborn babies born with broken hearts. These are just some of the cruelties of cardiovascular disease. And the brutal reality is, there is so much more for science to discover before we can beat the world’s biggest killers.

That’s why British Heart Foundation exists. Funding research is how we change the game. And we all have a role to play. The tools we have at our disposal today — from heart transplants and pacemakers, to stents and portable defibrillators — are all down to research. Research made possible by people like you.

When we join forces, we can make the impossible possible. We can take the best and brightest ideas from scientists’ minds and help turn them into treatments you can get at your GP. We can make theories on pages jump into reality. Our research can save your life and your family’s lives.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/

Salvation Army: 

We serve the local community out of our 650 churches and community centres. The work we do is varied, from helping victims of modern slavery, to nurseries, community choirs, and food banks. Our community work is our strength, all powered through God's love.

Our Christian mission — and therefore our work — is based on a passionate belief that our faith demands expression in action as well as words.

That is why we provide practical help for people in need, defend those who are vulnerable and abused, and fight against injustice. The services we provide are diverse, reflecting the needs of the communities we serve.

We work nationally and in local communities through our 650 churches and community centres throughout the UK and Ireland, to serve those who most need our help. We work with decision makers to ensure the views of vulnerable people are heard. We also support international development projects.

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/

Cash for Kids: 

Cash for Kids is a grant-giving charity helping the children that need it most across the UK.

Our mission is to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in our communities who are affected by poverty, illness, neglect, or have additional needs. We believe that all children should be able to express their individuality, achieve their potential, and live life to the full.

We work with grass-roots organisations that aim to make a difference to young lives, directly supporting families who often have nowhere else to go.

https://cashforkids.org.uk/

SCRATCH: 

SCRATCH is a registered charity founded in 1999 to relieve the effects of poverty for families and individuals with needs recognised by approved referral agencies in Southampton and its surrounding areas. Located in Southampton, we provide assistance to families and individuals in Southampton and across Hampshire.

Dorcas Project was our first project and started over 26 years ago (long before SCRATCH was even thought about) when one of the founding directors fell through a friend’s settee. Being the bright spark that he is, he realised that she needed a new one, so enquired at the church he was attending at the time if anyone had a settee that they no longer needed. From that first delivery he heard of other disadvantaged families requiring furniture, so asked around to see if anyone had items available.

The ethos and motivation of SCRATCH is rooted in the teaching and example of Jesus Christ. It is His love which compels us to serve others, putting their needs first.

SCRATCH was established to manage and develop the social action projects initiated by the Christian Charity Southampton City Mission.

https://www.scratchcharity.co.uk/index.htm

Two Saints: 

Our Day Centre is the heart of the homeless community in Southampton. We provide a safe space for up to 70 adults each day, who are homeless, to access basic facilities such as food, clothes, showers, and laundry. The service also has a dedicated health care service on-site and we’re also able to provide accommodation for up to 10 clients. 

Our aim is to support our clients to remain safe and maintain their mental and physical health; to ensure their immediate needs are met and to help clients find the right path for them to access support and long-term accommodation. 

Our Southampton young people service provides supported accommodation for up to 20 young people between the age of 16 and 21, including care leavers. The service operates across various locations in Southampton, each is tailored to the needs of the clients and offer various levels of support.

Our young parents service provides supported accommodation for up to 30 young parents, between the age of 16 and 21, with babies or young children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The service operates across various locations in Southampton, each is tailored to the needs of the clients and offer various levels of support.

Our staff work closely with family nurse practitioners, social services and other agencies to support young parents to develop good parenting skills and to keep their children safe. 

We aim to support young people with their individual support needs to enable then to gain life skills to move on to long term, lower level, or independent supported living.

https://www.twosaints.org.uk/project/southampton/

3 Rivers Food Pantry: 

The Free Shop at Swaythling Railway Station runs every Saturday morning from 10:30am-12:30pm, handing out spare food from supermarkets and private donations to reduce food waste and help people access food without barriers. We do not charge and do not seek referrals or benefits statements, so everyone has the opportunity to take food without criteria on a first come, first served basis.

This project builds social cohesion in the Swaythling area and surrounding communities, brings people together, reuses spare rooms at the station, which otherwise would sit empty, promotes the railways in a positive light, and reduces the impact of waste on our environment.

https://www.neighbourly.com/project/60338c712a5f7364f2eadc55