Somebody Cares Launches

Heart warming Christmas Campaign to Support Local Families in Need

With the festive season approaching, Somebody Cares is launching its 2024 Christmas Campaign, bringing joy and crucial support to local families in need. Last year, thanks to the generosity of the community, Somebody Cares delivered over 43,000 meals to families facing hardship. With multiple initiatives designed to engage people of all ages, this year’s campaign is set to spread even more Christmas cheer and make a real difference in the lives of local families.

This year’s campaign includes five key initiatives, each offering a unique opportunity for individuals, families, and businesses to contribute to the cause:

Reverse Advent Calendar

The festive fun has already started with this year’s Reverse Advent Calendar, which launched on the 7th of November. For 24 days, counting down to the end of November, every day a new item to donate—ranging from cereal to tinned goods— will be featured on the Somebody Cares Facebook & Instagram stories. Whether you contribute a little each day or donate all at once, every offering counts. If you’ve missed a day, don’t worry—download the full list of items here and join in whenever you can.

Christmas Hamper Drive

Individuals, groups, and workplaces are encouraged to come together and donate Christmas hampers filled with food, treats, and other festive essentials so no one has to go without this festive season. A downloadable list of suggested hamper items is available here.

Alternative Gift Vouchers

Not sure what to get the person who has everything? Instead of traditional gifts, why not try an Alternative Gift Voucher, available to purchase from the Somebody Cares Online Store. Vouchers, starting at just £5, allow you to provide essential support to local families. From a Festive Family Food Parcel to a Children’s Christmas Eve Bag, these gifts make a lasting impact, bringing joy and comfort to those in need.

Giving Tree

The Somebody Cares store on Denmore Road will host a Giving Tree from the 25th of November, where you can choose a tag with a child’s name and age. By purchasing a gift and returning it to the store you can ensure that every child wakes up with a present on Christmas morning.

Teddy Bear ‘Elf-on-the-Shelf’

Starting December 1st, follow our mascot teddy bear as he embarks on daily adventures, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of the campaign’s efforts and showcasing how the community can help. Follow his journey on Instagram and Facebook Stories and get inspired to take part in the fun!

“Christmas is a time to come together and share with those who need it most,” says COO Alison Topley. “Our goal is to provide multiple ways for the community to get involved, whether it's donating a hamper, picking a tag from a Giving Tree, or purchasing an Alternative Gift Voucher. Every act of kindness helps make the season brighter for local families.”

Somebody Cares’ Christmas Campaign is a heartwarming reminder of the power of community. With various ways to participate, everyone has the opportunity to make a difference this festive season. By working together, we can ensure that no family goes without the joy, warmth, and hope that Christmas brings.

For more information or to get involved, visit www.somebodycares.org or contact them at 01224 460700.

Somebody Cares Scotland Founders Retire After 22 Years of Community Service

L-R Alison Topley, COO; Brian & Jenny Taylor, Founders; Dr Yekemi Otaru, Interim CEO

An Aberdeen-based charity, Somebody Cares Scotland, announced the retirement of its founders, Brian and Jenny Taylor, after 22 years of dedicated service to the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire communities.

The Taylors founded Somebody Cares in 2002 with a vision to support those facing challenging times. Under their leadership, the charity has grown to become a cornerstone of community support, providing food, clothing, and furniture to thousands of individuals and families in need.

On October 4th, over 40 current and former staff, volunteers, and well-wishers gathered for a Retirement Lunch to honour the Taylors' contributions.

"We are overwhelmed by the love and support we've received," said Brian and Jenny Taylor. "It's been an incredible journey, and we're proud of the impact Somebody Cares has made. We're confident that the charity will continue to thrive under its new leadership."

Dr. Yekemi Otaru, Interim CEO, expressed gratitude for the Taylors' legacy: "Brian and Jenny's vision and dedication have touched countless lives. We are committed to building on their foundation and expanding our services to meet the evolving needs of our community."

Leadership of Somebody Cares will transition to Dr. Yekemi Otaru as Interim CEO and Alison Topley as COO.

Lockdown Diary – Week 11

20^th March 2021

Wow what a week we have had at Somebody Cares HQ, our theme of the week has been ‘sharing.’ Between us we have distributed delicious Walkers Shortbread all over the city, to Care Homes, Sheltered Housing, Support Groups, Schools, Hospital Staff, Fire Stations, Police Stations, COVID Test Centres and we still have many more places to visit next week.  Thank you, Walkers, for allowing us to do this, it gives us great joy to be able to share our donations with the wider population, to acknowledge and thank all those who have endured stricter rules or gone beyond the call of duty to help during this pandemic.

It is not just Somebody Cares who shares, you as our readers also play a part, you share our posts, the volunteers among you share your time and many of you share your belongings in the form of donations. 

Somewhere in our city today there is a child who was traumatised, a woman who fled domestic abuse, a teenager who was kicked out of their family home, a man who was homeless, an OAP who was left alone and a refugee who escaped the unimaginable.  Their experiences are heart breaking and traumatic but thankfully they were able to access help from support workers, housing officers and Somebody Cares.  Thanks to your donations, today they have a safe bed to sleep in, drawers and wardrobes full of clothing, towels and bedding, kitchen with kettles, toasters, plates and cutlery and cupboards with food to put on the plates. Children have toys and books to take their mind off the trauma they should never have had to face.  Living rooms have sofas, units, curtains, rugs and pictures on the walls, and families have tables to eat at and enjoy family time around. We are delighted, that with your help and support, we have been able to make their house a home.

Sadly, the pandemic has meant for every person who has already received our help, there are several more waiting. When someone is allocated a home it comes with nothing, no carpets, furniture, or white goods, quite literally nothing.  Many can access funds from a community care grant; however, the sheer volume of requests means it currently takes 10 weeks to hear back.  It is for this reason our work is so important and it is imperative that we help as quickly and efficiently as possible.  We have had so many offers of donations and while we can’t accept them quite yet, we hope to be able to do so as soon as the restrictions are lifted.  We will make an announcement on social media when we have the green light so watch this space.

We will end by thanking our volunteers, supermarkets, companies, and individuals for their ongoing support and donations to our foodbank which has again had a very busy week.  Aberdeen will not recover overnight, there is still lots of people in need of our help so we continue to encourage you to support our foodbank in any way that you can.

Have a lovely weekend Aberdeen and keep sharing the love.

Lockdown Diary – Week 10

13^th March 2021

We can hardly believe we have completed ‘Week 10’ - just like that, we are hitting double figures!  Well perhaps not ‘just like that’, there has been highs and lows, tears and joy, tough days, and downright desperate days but throughout it all there has been hard work, grit and determination to make sure we feed and find emergency supplies for every single person who has turns to us for help. 

The slight easing of restrictions gives us hope that we will soon begin to emerge from lockdown however sadly that doesn’t mean an overnight end to the hard times endured by so many in our city.  There will still be those out of work, those struggling to find money to pay the bills, those carrying the scars of domestic violence, mental health issues and homelessness.  Even when we emerge from lockdown, our city will still face an upwards battle.  Our promise at Somebody Cares is we will continue to be there, by your side, supporting you in every way that we can.

We are delighted to report that there has been a lot to be grateful for this week, we were over the moon to receive a large donation of TV’s from Augeon North Sea Services and a donation of pallets from ERIKS Distribution Services to aid our Warehouse pack up.  Asda, Tesco, Lidl, Co-op and Marks & Spencer stores from across the city continued to provide us with end of day produce, Walkers Shortbread dropped off another 5 pallets of treats and some lovely donators turned up with their regular monthly donations of food.  One kind gentleman on being thanked for his ongoing support told us ‘life has been good to me, so I think I should share that good fortune with others’.  What a wonderful way to look at life.  If we all did a little, we could collectively achieve a lot.

We have had a busy week supplying items for support workers to take to their clients, there are so many people out there facing struggles. We have received many calls from individuals looking to donate to us and we would like to thank you all for your offers of help.  While we are still currently unable to accept household donations, we are hopeful that the easing of the restrictions will mean that this will change in a few weeks’ time.  If you can hold onto items, please do so, we will make an announcement on Facebook when we can start taking donations again and we look forward to seeing you all then.

As always Aberdeen, we are indebted to you for your ongoing support which allows us to continue to offer help where it is most needed.  As our generous gentleman said, if life has been good to you, please consider paying that forward.  Perhaps you could organise a fundraising event with family and friends, buy a few tins from our Amazon Wish List or consider donating a few pounds to our Just Giving Page.  Every amount regardless of the size allows us to provide much needed help within our community and helps the charity to keep on serving during these difficult times.

Have a wonderful weekend Aberdeen and thank you once again.

Lockdown Diary – Week 9

6^th March 2021

As we close off on week nine of Somebody Cares Emergency Response, we can’t help but feel the weeks are beginning to merge into one another. It has been a long slog and we still have many more weeks to endure which is a huge worry for us.  There is still no financial support from the government, which seems implausible given the restrictions imposed upon us.  We are prevented from operating our Megastore which funds the running costs of the food bank and charitable giving side of the organisation, we have had to turn down a huge amount of your generous donations, furlough most of our staff and meet the challenges of operating with a skeleton staff. 

However, the Government relies upon charities such as Somebody Cares to feed, cloth, and provide emergency furniture and care packages to the vulnerable residents of our city.  It is a very worrying time for charities juggling funds, manpower and coordinating distribution and support whilst also keeping everyone safe during a pandemic. 

As we have several more weeks of lockdown to endure, we have no choice but to launch an emergency Just Giving Campaign to allow us to keep operating.  We know many of you have already been so generous and supportive of our work however right now we really need to ask you to dig deep and consider a donation of any amount to our Emergency page.  Alternatively, you may wish to run a fundraising event of your own or suggest donations to mark a birthday, anniversary, or special occasion.  No matter how you feel you can support our work your donation is needed now more than ever.  https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SomebodyCares

This week seems like a fitting time to thank and acknowledge our amazing team of volunteers.  They are the lifeblood of our organisation and due to our skeleton staff, they are the only reason we have been able to operate as we have done to date.  They sort donations, help run the warehouse, they pack for our move, they answer phones, they chat with clients, they shop for food supplies, they prepare food parcels and deliver them to those who cannot collect from the food bank.  In true Somebody Cares style, they always go the extra mile and they do it all with a smile.  In short, they do everything with care, though and compassion, they are true ambassadors of the ethos and values we hold so dearly at Somebody Cares.  We are so proud of each and every one of you and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for helping us run Somebody Cares and support our city.

We would also like to give thanks this week to Easter Cushnie Farm for the amazing donation of two tonnes of locally grown potatoes, this will ensure substantial supplies in our food bags for several weeks.  We are also thankful to our supermarkets for their ongoing support with end of day produce, to the staff at Portlethen Medical Practice for collecting carrier bags for us and to Burns Construction for 3 vans full of furniture which is desperately needed by our furniture clients.  We can’t wait to reopen our Warehouse and allow our clients to choose from these items.

So, as we sign off on week 9, we wish you all a relaxing weekend and shamelessly ask you to click onto our Just Giving page, share, share, share and consider a donation.  There is no I in team but together Aberdeen, WE CAN DO THIS.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SomebodyCares

Lockdown Diary – Week 8

27^th February 2021

It is fair to say that week eight has been a week of ups and downs at Somebody Cares.  Last week we supported many people worried about their mental health, this week our hearts were breaking as we found ourselves supporting victims of domestic abuse.  Several times this week our team jumped to action to supply emergency food parcels, toiletries, kitchen items, bedding, clothing, toys, and baby items for support workers to take to their clients in their hour of need.  Your generous support of our work makes it possible for us to react at very short notice and helps to assures the victims that they are not alone, and help is always at hand.  We are so grateful to be able to play our small part in making that difference when it is needed.  If you or someone you know is experiencing any form of abuse, you do not need to suffer in silence, there is fantastic support available and despite what you may have been led to believe you will be listened to and supported. For advice and support please follow the link at the end of this article.

Elsewhere we were excited to start the week with the delivery of several Amazon boxes filled with food from our new Amazon wish list, we are particularly pleased to see donations of tomato soup which is a firm favourite with the children!

Once again, we were blessed with a joint and abundant donation from Mannofield Church, Cults Stores and Co-op Great Western Road, you never let us down and neither do the shoppers at Tesco Newtonhill who supplied another trolley full of donations for our foodbank.  We were also delighted to receive a large donation of food and clothing from Lidl Bucksburn and were thrilled as always to receive food donations from individuals at the door.  Despite all these donations our shelves are emptying as quickly as the are being filled and with lockdown due to continue for several more weeks and more and more larger families turning to us for help, these donations are paramount to keeping us afloat.  If you would like to support our work but cannot travel to us please check out the links below, there are always ways to support our work, via Just Giving or our Amazon Wish list.

We were out and about again this week sharing our donation of Walkers Shortbread and left-over supermarket fresh food, bread and flowers with Care Homes, Key Workers, and local Hostels, it is always a joy to share when we can with our City.

Elsewhere we were over the moon to receive a huge donation of pillows and pedal bins from The Moxy Hotel at Aberdeen Airport, which our home furnishing clients will be able to access when the Warehouse emerges from lockdown. Our Office Furniture sales are doing well, and we were delighted like everyone else to see the sunshine and blue skies.  Let’s hope spring has indeed sprung and with it a fresh start, growth and hope for the future for us all.

Enjoy the weekend, the rest and hopefully the blue skies, we will be back again next week to do it all again.

www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help

Lockdown Diary  - Week 7

20^th February 2021

Seven weeks into lockdown and the strains are really beginning to show, several times this week we have heard from people suffering with anxiety and stress, worried about their mental health or those of their loved ones. We are scared to attend hospital appointments; immunisation clinics and we are unable to support loved ones who are in hospital.  We are worried about money, employment, finding new jobs or being furloughed.  We are struggling from the lengthy separation from our family and friends, many are feeling isolated, lonely and generally missing the freedom we once took for granted.  In short, we are suffering from lockdown fatigue.

We want to say this week, if you are feeling any of the above, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, we are living in unprecedented times and no one is immune to the impact of the fight against COVID-19. As the famous saying goes, ‘We are all in the same storm, but not in the same boat’, we all face different challenges, but they are all worthy and in the week of Random Acts of Kindness we ask you all to dig deep and show patience, love and empathy to one another.  At the end of this post, you will find a link to a website with lots of tips on how look after our mental health.  Let’s all try that little bit harder this week to eat well, keep good sleep patterns, get out in the fresh air and to pick up the phone and speak to our family and friends.  Together those little things can make a big difference to us all.  The COVID19 immunisation clinic is doing fantastic work and the end is in sight, lets all look for the positives in every day.

Staying on the theme of eating well we are pleased to say that our food parcels this week have continued to remain full of fresh produce thanks to the ongoing support of our local supermarkets.  Eating well has never been more important and ensuring we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner helps our mental health too.  Its why we put so much thought and preparation into our food parcels.  The downside is our food stocks dwindle quickly.  Despite some wonderful food donations gaps are beginning to appear on our shelves again so we need to continue to ask for your support of our Just Giving Page or our new Amazon Wish List where you can buy food items that will be delivered directly to our foodbank.  We would like to stress that every donation helps, if all our readers donated just a couple of pounds, we would be able to do amazing work within our City.

Once again, this we provided a large amount of emergency furniture, household items, clothing, and baby items to Support Workers to take to their clients, our Warehouse pack up continued in haste as our building continues to present us more and more challenges, we desperately need to find a suitable building in a suitable location to best serve those who need our help. 

In what can only be described as a week full of challenges there has been much to be thankful for, The Carmalite Hotel donated packaging to our pack up, we received a generous donations from Tesco Newtonhill, and Lidl Torry from the proceeds of their Hunger Campaign, Co-op Great Western Road came on board as a supporter and we also received some generous donations from the public which we are always so grateful to receive.  Despite all to these our shelves still empty fast so please, please continue to share with anyone who you feel could support our work.

We are grateful to everyone who reads, shares and follows our work, we love how our community pulls together, so lets all remember to ‘Be Kind’ in the week ahead both to ourselves and those around us. 

Stay positive Aberdeen

COVID-19: guidance for the public on mental health and wellbeing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Lockdown Diary – Week 6

13^th February 2021

Week six of our lockdown Food Bank has been our busiest so far, every week seems to bring a new challenge and this week it was the weather. The snow and plummeting temperatures caused significant issues for many families, who faced the dilemma of keeping their children warm or keeping their children fed. There was a rise in the number of people who felt housebound and scared to go out for fear of slipping on the ice and there was also a rise in people finding themselves being placed in temporary accommodation with nothing but the clothes they stood in.  It has been a challenging and sad week for so many people.

Too many times this week we heard people apologise for having to ask for help, telling us they have never used a foodbank and they felt ashamed to have to ask for help.  Our message to anyone feeling like this is, there is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to apologies for and please be brave enough to get in touch, only when you do so can we help you make a positive change.  You are not alone, we are here to help and delighted to do so, things will get better but while you need us, we are here for you.  Our role as a foodbank is to share the donations with our city when it is needed most.  Many people provide us items because we helped them in their hour need in the past, so if you need our help but are nervous about making that first step, don’t be, remember if you really want to you can always consider paying it back in the future by donating to another resident in need when you are back on your feet.

Thanks to an abundance of donations from the supermarkets this week, everyone received a food parcel briming with fresh food, fruit, and vegetables, we love providing parcels full of nutritious food which enable recipients the freedom to make many meals.  We would like to give a special thanks to the congregation of Mannofield Church, the school community at Robert Gordons College and everyone who donated to the trolley collections at Cults Stores, and Lidl stores.  You didn’t let the weather put you off and you continued to donate to the food collections which are literally keeping us going right now. We couldn’t do what we do without your ongoing support.

We also received a large consignment of Tunnocks Caramel Wafers from Loganair and treats from Dunelm Aberdeen, who also brought us the amazing news that we have been chosen as the recipient of the food element of their new ‘Delivering Kindness’ campaign.  If you can support our work, please consider dropping off donations at our Foodbank or to one of the shops mentioned above. 

Finally, we would also like to thank Sodexo, Dunelm Aberdeen and our readers who have continued to provide us with food bags and packing materials for our move.  It warms our hearts that so many businesses, schools, churches, groups, and individuals join together to support our work.  Together we are a Somebody Cares community, and we all play our part. So, this week Aberdeen we would like to express our sincere gratitude to you all. Together we will look after our own.

Keep cosy and enjoy the snow.

Lockdown Diary Week 5

6^th February 2021

It has been a busy week at Somebody Cares, our amazing Foodbank girls have been kept busy preparing our food parcels for our team of equally amazing drivers to deliver throughout the city.  Thanks to our donators and local supermarkets we are in the fortunate position to be able to provide well rounded food parcel with a mixture of both fresh and cupboard food.

Our foodbank team work exceptionally hard to make each parcel to the personal specifications of the recipient, whether that is gluten free, vegetarian, families with fussy eaters or even clients with no cooking facilities.  It makes us sad that in 2021 we have residents living within our city with only a kettle to cook and warm their food.  It is for this reason we don’t just provide a bag of food; we provide a bag filled with thought, with love and with compassion.  Where we can, we will provide treats and birthday cakes for children, a packet of sweeties for an OAP, or a bunch of flowers to lift the spirits of someone who is having a bad day. For some of our client the visit from our driver is the only human contact they have in a day, it is therefore very important to us that we always put our heart and soul into our food parcels, from the initial phone call, to selecting the food, and final delivery, we do it all with enthusiasm and love.

We were fortunate to received large donations of food from both Lidl, Hutcheon Street and Sainsburys Berryden in addition to our usual supermarket end of day produce which was plentiful this week and meant we were also able to provide trays of food to the hostels, nursing homes and to many key workers. Stonehaven Mountaineering and Hillwalking Club provided us with generous donations after their Virtual Burns Supper, Nicole the daughter or one of our foodbank ladies used her furlough money to purchase rice for us and our readers continued to drop off individual donations at the door.  We cannot express how much of a difference this makes, we are so thankful for your generosity, your support and your belief in the work of Somebody Cares.

Our call for food bags and boxes was answered this week with donations of bags from BP, Tesco and Aberdeen City Council, parcels began to arrive from our Amazon wish list and DBD 2000 and Kilts Wi Hae both donated a fantastic selection of boxes to help us get our warehouse pack up in action.  Our volunteers have all worked hard this week allowing us to made good progress, however in a warehouse of our size there is still much to be done and we will require a lot more boxes so please can we ask you to continue share our appeal for packing materials.

We also continued to selected items for Social Workers to pick up on behalf of their clients, it’s good to know that while we can’t take clients in for appointments, we are still able to make that little bit of a difference. 

Finally, before we sign off on week 5 we’d like to once again express our sincere thanks to everyone who has supported our work this week, we really do appreciate it.  If you or someone you know needs our help call us on 01224 460700 or email foodbank@somebodycaresuk.org.  If you are struggling please refer to www.gov.uk/coronavirus  www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19 or Aberdeen City Council Crisis Line 0800 030 4713 for help and support.

Have a restful weekend.

Lockdown Diary Week 4

30^th January 2021

A month into lockdown and still our numbers are increasing, there are more sad stories, new requests and despairing mums reaching out, desperate for help.  We are humbled and proud that due to your ongoing support we have been able to provide that vital lifeline when it is needed most.  As mentioned last week if you or someone you know is struggling remember help is at hand, you are not alone, and true to our name, Somebody Cares.

We were delighted to be blessed with more wonderful donations this week, the congregation of Manofield Church and Cults Stores gifted us another weekly donation, a lovely group of Milltimber neighbours dropped off a very generous donation of food, Katy of Katy’s eggs dropped off more delicious free-range eggs, which we are delighted to see in every single parcel. Dunelm donated treats from their café and we had an amazing donation of food from the pupils and staff of Robert Gordons College.  Thank you so much to each and every one of you who donated to one of these collections. It is no exaggeration to say that these donations are what sustain us and keep us going week to week.  It is almost hard to comprehend that 4 weeks into lockdown the government has still not provided any funding or help to the charities feeding our vulnerable residents.  Its for this reason we cannot stress how vital and appreciated your support is at this time.  If you feel you could arrange a food collection either through work, school, church, or another method we would love to hear from you.

This week we also continued to donate shortbread and treats to care homes and key workers throughout the city, we provided more emergency clothing and furniture items to support workers to take to their clients, we worked in collaboration with other local charities and our new Office Furniture Shop has been working hard to provide desks for home workers and offices. 

Unfortunately, the recent bad weather has caused even further damage to our current building and the need to move is now becoming urgent.  As if running the foodbank wasn’t enough our amazing volunteers have also had to turn their hand to starting the mammoth task of packing up and clearing out our Warehouse. We are very quickly running out of packaging materials so once again we are appealing to the public for help.  We would love to hear from any companies or individuals who can provide us with packing crates, old trolley, or boxes suitable for packing. If you or anyone you know may be able to donate some packaging please get in touch and share our post.  We have also set up an amazon wish list which will allow you to support our move by purchasing a packaging item to help us, see the link below.      

It has been an exhausting, challenging and emotional week for everyone at Somebody Cares and we are all looking forward to a chance to rest. However, before we sign off, we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for continuing to read, like and share our posts, for your messages of encouragement and for your donations of food and money to enable us to continue to serve our city. We simply could not do it without you and our wonderful volunteers who so freely and willingly give up their time to support the work of Somebody Cares. Thank you to each and every one of you, you are simply AMAZING.

Wishing you a restful and peaceful weekend.

Lockdown Diary – Week 3

23^rd January 2021

We can hardly believe we are already ending a third week of lockdown.  This has been a sobering week as the reality of the lockdown really starts to hit home.  Like any foodbank we have our ‘regulars’ who we support on a weekly basis, giving them a helping hand to make ends meet, to help them make sure the children don’t go without.  By giving them food they in turn have money to heat their homes and pay their bills.  However, this week, we have seen a surge of emails, messages, and calls from desperate people who have never used a foodbank before, apologising for calling, embarrassed to ask for help but having no where else left to turn.  OAPs and vulnerable people too scared to go out due to the new variant and the icy pavements, single mum’s who are feeling the pressure of home schooling and are struggling, people who have been furloughed and are falling into debt and families where both breadwinners have lost their jobs.

We are hearing regular stories of anxiety, of worry and of people really beginning to struggle with their mental health. Times are hard, all over the city, it’s a sobering thought that none of us are immune to the havoc this current lockdown reeking throughout the country.

If you or someone you know needs help, we are here, we care, WE WILL HELP.  There will be no questions, no judgement, just a listening ear and a helping hand.  You can call, email, or message us, whatever you are most comfortable with.  At the end of this message, you will find our details and links to other sites which you may find useful.  If you are struggling, reach out to family or friends, get outside in the fresh air, go for a walk, and clear your head and remember we will come out the other side of this, better days are ahead of us.  This too shall pass.

As is always the case in a crisis human kindness comes to the forefront and thankfully this week was no different.  We started the week with a visit from eleven-year-old Katherine C, who arranged a collection of food from her neighbours, several other donations followed which helped fill our parcels, your compassion, generosity, and willingness to help is very much appreciated.

We also had some wonderful donations from businesses, Walkers delivered a huge donation of shortbread which are being enjoyed by our clients and are also being shared with OAPs, Key workers, and schools throughout the city.  The staff at the Marriott Hotel in Dyce donated the proceeds of their Christmas Raffle, and the wonderful Katy at Katy’s Eggs delivered over 1,000 eggs for us to distribute to our clients and local hostels.  How wonderful it is to have such a valuable source of protein in our parcels this week.

As we draw the week to a close, once again Aberdeen, we THANK YOU for your generosity and your support, we couldn’t do it without you. Wishing you all a peaceful and restful weekend. 

If you or someone you know needs our help call us on 01224 460700 or email foodbank@somebodycaresscotland.org.  If you are struggling please refer to www.gov.uk/coronavirus  www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19 or Aberdeen City Council Crisis Line 0800 030 4713 for help and support.

Lockdown Diary – Week 2

We are beginning to settle into a new kind of normal this week in the Foodbank, the phones are getting busier and there are many new faces turning up to collect food parcels from us which is a sad and telling sign of just how deep this new lockdown is already impacting our city.

On a more positive note, we were delighted to be able to hand out some amazing food parcels this week. There was a tremendous amount, of delicious meals from Marks & Spencers, dozens of eggs and end of line products from Lidl, and great donations of fresh food and bakery items from Asda and Tescos.  Being able to provide well rounded food parcels with a mixture of fresh and ambient products plus fruit and vegetables makes us so proud, we are so thankful to our local supermarkets for making that possible.

Once again, we have been overwhelmed by the support we continue to receive from the city, you never cease to amaze us. Individuals continued to donate food at the door, Mannofield Church and Cults Stores provided us with another generous donation, their support has never wavered and makes such a difference to our shelves every week.  Asda Dyce very generously spent their additional budget on a large variety of tinned meats which has allowed us to add a good amount of protein to our bags and Cornhill Hospital very kindly donated a large amount of shortbread which all our clients have enjoyed this week.  In addition to our individual food parcels, we were delighted to provide trays of food to key workers, nursing homes and hostels and we even managed to provide many clients and key workers with flowers to help chase away the lockdown blues.

Once again, our lovely volunteers worked their socks off and our CEO even did a stint on the STV news.

While our furniture warehouse currently remains closed, we tried our best to help support workers with real emergency situations by leaving items at our door for them to pick up on behalf of their clients.  Its good to know in some small way we are still able to help.

Unfortunately, there is still no news of funding options for charities to support our work, which is worrying for us all, it doesn’t take long for our shelves to empty over the course of a week.  So, with no funding in place, we need to continue to look to the public and industry who can hopefully spare a little to support us either as food or monetary donation to our Just Giving page below. 

As Lockdown Week 2 draws to a close we’d like to say thank you to our lovely volunteers, to our amazing donators, to the cities support workers who help look after the vulnerable and thank you to our wonderful supermarkets, it’s a team effort but you all play an important part in helping us each and every week. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and feel free to share our post with your friends and family.

Lockdown Diary – Week 1

8th January 2021

Wow where do we even start, what a week, what an AMAZING week. We started the week with news of a full lockdown, which added many additional challenges and worries for us. With all but a skeleton staff furloughed and currently no funding opportunities to keep charities such as Somebody Cares in action, we were facing some really big concerns. We already knew from experience that a full lockdown meant a big increase in the need for our services, add into the mix, being greeted on our first day back in the building by no power, no heating and no Wi-Fi and boom 2021 was already losing its shiny coating of hope. However, in true Somebody Cares team style our amazing volunteers rallied, a makeshift office was set up in record time, phones were diverted to mobiles, and our IT guru, Neil got us back on the Wi-Fi, there was much rejoicing about that one!!

Our volunteers jumped into action and by the end of day two we had a full complement of volunteers signed up to help us run our Foodbank and serve our city. We are beyond grateful for their constant support, they never let us down, they are the heart of our organisation and we simply could not do what we do without them.

With power restored, at least in part, volunteers in place and the phones starting to ring again, we were ready to roll, at least for a short while, our Festive Food Parcels were in such demand that our once healthy Foodbank, was now displaying many bare shelves and certainly was not looking so healthy anymore. As our Megastore has had to temporarily close its doors due to lockdown rules, we as a charity have lost our source of income to fund our work and running costs, this is an ongoing concern for us, especially as requests for help are increasing. With no feasible funding currently on offer, we turned to you, our wonderful readers and asked for your help and wow did you listen. In one day, you shared the life out of our post, Fubar News, Aberdeen Helping Hands and many other sites shared our post and within 24 hours Aberdeen, you helped us raise a whopping £5,000!!!

As if that wasn’t enough you emailed, you called and you arrived at our door with food donations, Asda Dyce offered us additional help, Cults Stores who had already supported us so generously prior to Christmas restarted a trolley collection for us, the Hub shared their donations with us and Cfine turned up with a full van of food to help restock our shelves. We were able to put out great parcels, and also donate end of day produce to key workers and two local hostels. You have filled our hearts with hope again and you have allowed us to continue to serve our wonderful city. We are proud of what you help us achieve, but today Aberdeen, most of all we are proud of YOU.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, keep cosy, stay safe and most of all THANK YOU