What is Helping Hands?
Helping Hands is Renewal’s Food Bank, established in 1998 helping thousands of people over the years with an emergency food parcel. This started out of the boot of a car, and is now an operation based in a warehouse at Renewal Solihull.
As a church, we have a heart to give and support the most vulnerable within the Solihull locality. We do this because we believe that Jesus met the most vulnerable where they were, providing what they needed and sending them on their way. This truly is, love in action. We aim to bridge the gap between our church and the community by coming alongside those in need.
Helping Hands supplies those who are most in need with food, toiletries and other essentials. Our ethos at Renewal Helping Hands is to help the families and individuals that we come into contact with to live lives that are independent and fulfilling. Contributions of food and finance will help to feed the most vulnerable across the borough.
For many people just receiving some food isn’t going to address the various complex and interlinked issues in their lives. For this reason, Renewal Helping Hands is committed to ensuring that we work with other agencies so that a full package of support can be provided. We are just one step in the process of meeting the needs of those in crisis.
During COVID-19 we partnered with a number of local food banks, establishing the Solihull Food Bank Network. This is where we work in collaboration with others to ensure we are all following best practice and standardised procedures. We share any surplus food and donations which may have been given.
How can you help?
Bring Donations
We have key items of the week which we share on our social media channels, attached to the shopping list below and within gatherings. We recognise that having a whole shopping list can be difficult to identify what is most needed. These weekly updates are the specific items we are low on within Helping Hands. You are welcome to bring them to a gathering on a Sunday or drop them into our Giving Point at Renewal Solihull during the week (within office opening hours).
You can also give on our amazon wish list – which has extra needed items on!
Volunteer
We have two teams within Helping Hands, the delivery team and the warehouse team.
The Warehouse team sort all of the donations which come in to our Solihull location, checking dates and ensuring they are appropriate to be packed ready for delivery. They prepare for the delivery drivers arrival, gathering and collecting all the elements needed. This will include, a long-life box, bread, meat and a cereal bag.
Mobilise Groups, Teams and Local Business
If you are in a local team or group, you are welcome to contact us and request a bunch of Helping Hands shopping lists, arranging a collection of our needed items. We are so grateful for donations and could not run Helping Hands in the way we do if it wasn’t for people giving so generously.
Grab a Bag, Fill a Bag, Give a Bag
We have a bunch of paper bags alongside our giving point at Renewal Chelmsley and Renewal Solihull. We would invite you to grab a bag fill it with our needed items and to return it the following week. You are also welcome to use a standard shopping list, grab it, fill it and return it back!
