Wythenshawe homelessness charity celebrates volunteers – and needs more

Local charity Emmaus South Manchester has celebrated their volunteers – and is appealing for more during this year’s Volunteers’ Week. 

Emmaus South Manchester aims to support homeless people and those suffering deprivation and social exclusion in the local area.

Volunteers help out at the charity’s base at St. Andrews Church in Wythenshawe or as remote volunteers from home.

The charity has a variety of roles on offer and is appealing for textiles volunteers, furniture workshop volunteers, van drivers and charity trustees.

Anyone interested in the roles will need good people skills and commit to volunteering at least one day per week.

“This Volunteers’ Week we’re showing our appreciation to all the people who have given their time and energy to our charity over the past year,” said Mark Booth, local champion for Emmaus South Manchester.

“We’re steadily growing and are now appealing for more people to sign up as volunteers to help out in our charity’s social enterprise.”

Emmaus South Manchester’s social enterprise produces and sells wooden furniture, upcycled furniture and other interesting handmade items such as clocks and textile products.

The items are all produced from reclaimed materials, diverting waste from landfill whilst generating an income to support the charity.

 “I like the way that Emmaus is run as a social enterprise, not just as a charity,” Sid Geoff Hall, a trustee and workshop volunteer at Emmaus South Manchester.

“We collect unwanted goods – furniture, clothes, you name it – and we look for ways to upcycle them so that we’re giving things new life and we stop them from being thrown away.

“I love the feeling of creating new opportunities, of seeing what works and what doesn’t, and then bringing things together.”

Volunteers’ Week is a chance to celebrate and say thank you for the contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.

Volunteers benefit charities and groups across the country, but volunteering has been shown to improve volunteers’ wellbeing too. It can also help people gain valuable new skills and experiences, and boost confidence.

To find out more or get involved as a volunteer visit: emmaus.org.uk.