A beautiful sunny lunchtime in Manchester. It seems to happen quite regularly these days, touch wood. Mooch from The Big Change and Graham from Street Support are heading to Chorlton to see Steph and Becky at Reach Out To The Community. Reach Out To The Community is a shop and community hub in which raises money and receives donations from generous local people in Chorlton. The charity helps people who find themselves homeless or in food poverty, taking a practical and responsive approach.

Read their story here.

Whilst catching up in the shop we met D, an artist who at that time was sleeping nearby in a shed. When D had left the shop, Steph and Becky asked us if we could put a social media ‘shout out’ for some canvases, paints and palette knives as D wanted to continue painting whilst waiting for accommodation.

So we did the ‘shout out’. Within hours we were contacted. ‘J’ (not from Manchester) posted out materials directly to the shop. ‘A’ from Manchester dropped off paints and pads at our offices in town. Best part of this story? ‘D’ now has the keys to his own flat, Reach Out have helped, (with the generosity of local supermarkets), stock D’s cupboards with food and all the necessaries to start afresh.  And ‘D’ is continuing to paint. We love it when a plan comes together…

With thanks to Steph and Becky for doing an amazing job in Chorlton. And thanks to the good people of Manchester for responding to a need so generously and so quickly. You all rock!