Supermarket giant Asda has stepped forward to make a donation of hygiene products to be given to the residents living at Launchpad’s Speke House in Liverpool.
Boxed sets of deodorants and shower gels and bales of towels were donated to the residents by Asda’s Hunts Cross store, as part of their way to support local community groups.
Launchpad’s Speke House is the city’s largest veterans’ accommodation in Liverpool and provides safe, secure accommodation and other essential support to 48 veterans to help them make a successful transition to civilian life.
Natalie Scully, Assistant Manager (Projects) at Speke House, reached out to the store to ask for any donations of hygiene products that could be given to the residents. She said:
“Despite everything that is going on in the world at the moment, individuals and organisations have been so generous in supporting our residents and the work we do.
“It’s a really challenging time for our residents, particularly with current lockdown restrictions making it difficult to access shops to buy essential hygiene products, so this donation is so important. I’d like to thank Asda, and in particular Chloe, for making this possible.”
Chloe Rose Millington, Asda Hunts Cross Community Champion, said:
“I am always looking out for new good causes to support within our local community. I am proud to support Natalie and her team at Launchpad, for their tremendous and inspiring work, and our veterans, especially because they have supported us in countless unknown ways and now they need our support and I am more than happy to help.”
Since 2013, the charity, which also has a house in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, has supported almost 500 veterans. In a typical year, 69% successfully move on to settled accommodation and 42% leave in paid employment.
Last year, those numbers had fallen due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as employment opportunities were harder to find and recovery rates slowed due to difficulties in getting veterans the opportunities they needed from partner organisations.
