Last week, as part of our Do Some Good initiative, we made our second charity donation to The LifeHouse...
This is a charity close to our head office and it was first brought to Lazy Susan owner Michael Scott’s attention by a member of the team back in September 2020.
You can read about our first donation in the 'Lazy Susan make a charity donation to The LifeHouse' post we published at the time.
Our latest donation of £2,300 comes at an exciting time for The LifeHouse as they're looking to expand the services they provide to those living beneath or on the poverty line in the Portsmouth area.
Following an extensive rebuilding/refurb programme at their Albert Road HQ they’ve got some exciting plans they're looking to implement in the coming months...
Hopefully, our donation will help them realise their objectives and help those who need it most!
The LifeHouse is currently seeing unprecedented demand for its services, and this has only been heightened by the pandemic.
Many people in our local community are in need of their help and support, with as many as 200 people a week dropping in for their hot meals and takeaway food parcels!
According to the team at The LifeHouse:
People have been attracted to the LifeHouse because of the new, large dining room we have been able to open in the last six weeks and the fact that we have been able to cater for them safely with socially distanced seating – like any other commercial restaurant or pub. We’ve been able to seat 25 individuals at a time and over a period of three hours. We’re now open every Wednesday and Thursday.
After the current health restrictions are lifted, and they consider it safe to do so, they're hoping to sit over 60 people at a time.
They described our donation as; “enormously valuable and much appreciated” and it will be used over the next month or two for vital supplies and equipment, including:
- Supply of quality meat for Thursday Dinners and Takeaways
- Accessible Toilet, Basin and Grab Rails set to equip the larger toilet dedicated to those with mobility impairments
- Large, commercial, steel plate-warming cupboard for our kitchen
- Tall, clear fronted cold drinks fridge for our dining/public hall
Our previous donation back in September 2020 was used to help refurbish and re-equip the kitchen and dining room (pictured above). At the time The LifeHouse said:
We have a lot of people hungry and in severe need coming to us – as many as 200 every week! We will now be able to seat 65+ at one time instead of 28 – which had led to serious queuing.
That money was used to do the following:
- Fresh Wednesday breakfast food – bacon, large breakfast baps, eggs and sausages
- New lighting in the new dining room and outside street lighting to ensure service user security
- Local carpenter to form new crockery cupboards under new kitchen hatch
- New, larger, stronger, mobile clothes rails for displaying free clothes to our guests
- New ceiling tiles were kindly fitted eventually free by a local contractor
About The LifeHouse
The LifeHouse is a not-for-profit charity that provides practical and supports for those in need living in Portsmouth and Southsea.
As they say on their website:
The LifeHouse is a resource, support centre and kitchen that serves hot food. Situated on the Albert Road in Southsea, their aim is to target the immediate needs and issues of those suffering homelessness and addiction in the Southsea and Portsmouth area.
Many in our home city are facing desperate situations, but whatever the circumstances, LifeHouse's aim is to show that there is a way out. They reach out with a plan to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to improve their situation through a wide variety of support services.
The LifeHouse team, many of whom are volunteers, are providing Sign-Posting Services to vulnerable men and women and target the issues of homelessness and addiction locally.
They aim to create an environment of compassion and care, where people feel they belong, are accepted; and where they can build a sense of self-worth and confidence, as they say:
The LifeHouse is a place where we can be generous with our time, energy and practical resources; where we can go the extra mile.
Working in partnership
The LifeHouse work together in partnership with other local agencies and services to enhance what is already being done in our region.
They rely on donations like the ones Lazy Susan have made, stating:
We are also immensely appreciative and grateful for the financial sponsorship and practical support that local people, organisations and people provide – this is our ONLY source of income!
As a charity, they’re fully funded by these donations.
As well as extending their opening hours, they would like to improve and extend the services they offer by looking to constantly improve what they do.
The LifeHouse want to reach as many folks in need as they can. To do this they’re looking to add even more services and increase the number of meals they can provide each week. A medical station and an IT desk are also high on the wish list so that they can help their guests to fill in application forms online.
We are always looking for support and sometimes practical support and volunteers. If there is a time we don’t, do keep in touch because, in the future, we would love to extend our opening hours. Contact June or Mike on 07800 933983 to find out how you could help. We are so please that some of our volunteers include a number of folks who have recovered from addiction themselves and/or found accommodation. We are always in need of fresh (butter, marg, milk, coffee, fruit, etc.) and non-perishable food to cook (squashes, tins, sauces, cereals, jams, marmalade, Marmite, etc.), as well as durable/waterproof clothes and sleeping bags to give out. At the moment shoes, coats and underwear is going very quickly to those in need.
You can find out more about them, the wonderful work the team do in our local community and make your own donations at LifeHouse.org.uk.
About our Do Some Good charity donations
Our Do Some Good charity initiative has raised over £126,000 to date for great causes across the UK and around the world.
In the first half of this year alone we have donated over £36,000 to our chosen charity partners!
All of this is only possible because of the photographs you send us, and we want to donate even more between now and the end of the year...
How can you help Do Some Good?
Here at Lazy Susan, we believe in doing some good and coming together by helping those in need.
You can help to do this - to get involved, follow these 3 easy steps:
Snap
1. Find your garden's best side and snap a photo to show us your Lazy Susan garden furniture.
Share
2. Send your photo to [email protected] or tag @lazysusanfurniture on Facebook or Instagram.
Review
3. Leave a product review on Trustpilot or Google.
For every photo we receive, we donate to charities that we care about.
If you're in need of some inspiration, take a look at our Customer Photo Gallery or Instagram - you may even get featured!
Help us Do Some (more) Good in 2021 by keeping those photos coming!