Over the past few weeks Wirksworth and Middleton CC have been raising money for a local foodbank in the area. While the club are unable to take to the field due to the ongoing Coronavirus restrictions, they wanted to do their bit in the community, during a time when people need help more than ever!
The club’s players and supporters have been invited to donate what they would have paid for their cricket teas and refreshments to the Jigsaw Foodbank at Church in the Peak. Over the course of recent weeks, Jigsaw have seen demand for their food packages more than double. All the money the club raise will help Jigsaw to support vulnerable people during this difficult period.
Jigsaw foodbank creates bespoke food parcels for those who need them in the community. Each parcel includes store cupboard goods, fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh food, frozen food, household products and toiletries.
They have seen a huge surge in their demand since the COVID-19 lockdown, meaning they need greater resources, more volunteers, and a greater delivery network as the majority of its parcels can no longer be collected during lockdown. The Jigsaw newsletter said:
“In the last few weeks, the way in which we run Jigsaw Food Bank has had to change enormously. Five weeks into lockdown and we have had an increase of over 50% in the number of households that we provide and deliver regular parcels to. This has been made possible by our incredible team of over 60 volunteers. Currently these parcels provide food for over 135 individuals in the area. We are anticipating a continued increase in demand and consequently, we are increasing our operations to deal with this increase. The changes that have been implemented due to the Covid-19 outbreak have been dramatic”.
The club has set a target of £1500 and they are well on their way to achieving that! The Just Giving page currently says they are on £600. The aim was to encourage members to donate what they would have spent on cricket teas on a Saturday and see how they got on! Mike Harwood from the cricket club said:
“I was astonished by the immediate support the appeal received- I set a nominal target of £1500, working on the assumption that we might not be playing for three months, so £500 a month seemed achievable but a bit of a challenge. Obviously, donations have slowed, but some people have given three or four weeks-worth, so I hope we’ll see another wave of donations in a couple of weeks. We’re almost half-way to the target; hopefully, we’ll exceed it”.
This is fine example of a cricket club making a difference in the community and is great to see! Particularly during a time when the cricket club itself is suffering from severely depleted revenue’s during what should be its busiest time of year! The additional support has been hugely appreciated by Jigsaw. They said:
“We have been extremely grateful for the number of individuals, businesses and local organisations who have come forward at this time to support us financially. This is enabling us to regularly purchase additional supplies to help maintain stock levels during this period of increased need”.
Well done to Wirksworth and Middleton CC and everyone involved on this project!
