Contact Hostel in Manchester has received a £10,000 grand prize through SPAR’s Community cashback initiative.
Since opening in 1970, Contact Hostel has provided a safe home and support to homeless teenage girls and has helped over 1,000 young women in that time.
In the last year, Contact Hostel housed 17 teenage girls, acting as a safe haven for them when they could be otherwise at risk in other environments.
The charity offers a comprehensive support package on top of accommodation, and this includes support workers helping girls to find employment, get back to education or find suitable training.
Young women staying at Contact Hostel are also taught vital life skills to enable them to take care of themselves properly when they progress back into independent living.
James Hall & Co. Ltd, SPAR’s primary retailer, wholesaler and distributor for the North of England, received 3,000 applications alone from charities and organisations as Community Cashback returned more popular than ever in its third consecutive year since inception.
Helen Gazard, Fundraising and Income Partner at Contact Hostel, and Hannah Martin, Operations Manager at Contact Hostel, received the cheque from Peter Dodding, Sales Director at James Hall & Co. Ltd, and Paul Uppal, a multi-site independent retailer, at SPAR Baguley.
Helen said: “We are so grateful to SPAR Community Cashback for this grant. We pride ourselves on being the only charity providing accommodation and support to teenage girls, in a female only environment, in Greater Manchester.
“This funding will enable us to continue making a positive difference in the lives of every girl who comes through our doors, enabling them to go forward and thrive.”
Philippa Harrington, Marketing Manager at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “We had a huge number of entries for SPAR’s Community Cashback this year and it meant selecting winners of the funding was an incredibly difficult decision-making process.
“We have chosen Contact Hostel as our grand prize winner in 2024 as it has an amazing legacy of impact over 50 years and continues to deliver outstanding work today. It is also an opportunity for us a business to support the ongoing issue of tackling homelessness, and we are delighted that £10,000 is going to a fantastic place that will benefit the lives of young women.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
For more information about James Hall & Co. Ltd, please visit www.jameshall.co.uk.
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