News / Society
Helping the needy with hats and scarves
Chairs originally meant for al fresco dining outside a cafe on Cheltenham Road now hold offerings for those in need.
One handwritten sign above a chair outside Emmeline reads ‘Hats & scarves – take if you need’, while the second says ‘…And please donate if you can’.
Both signs were put in place by owner Shona Graham who decided to help those less fortunate during November’s cold snap.
Shona visited a nearby charity shop and asked them to give her all the warm clothes they could in return for a £20 note.
She then placed the stash on one of the chairs outside. People quickly began to take the hats and scarves, but then she began to be approached by people who wanted to help by giving items themselves, with people even donating jackets and sleeping bags.
“It’s not up to me who’s in need of the clothes, they have to decide that for themselves,” Shona says.
She plans to continue the project for as long as there is a demand for it, perhaps even changing with the seasons to become weather appropriate for whatever is needed throughout the year.
Emmeline also acts as a collection point for Aid Box Community (ABC), a humanitarian organisation which distributes emergency aid to refugees and asylum seekers across the UK and Europe.
There is high demand for supplies such as sleeping bags and jackets for ABC, as well as for childrens’ shoes for organisation Sal’s Shoes, which sends shoes to under privileged children in Africa.
While in Emmeline, you can also take part in their ‘suspended coffee’ initiative which encourages you to purchase a second coffee as a random act of anonymous charity for someone who may come in asking for one later, but cannot afford one.