Homelessness charity Emmaus and Hermes have celebrated their first year in partnership together, which has seen the UK’s leading parcel delivery company raise over £111,000 to help support the charity’s aim to give formerly homeless people a home, meaningful work and a sense of belonging.
To mark the occasion, Hermes CEO Martijn de Lange visited the Emmaus site in Fitzwarren Street, Salford, one of 29 such sites across the UK. He had a tour of the facilities including a shop, a social supermarket and a school uniform hub, which provides uniform for local children from low-income families. He also looked round the bedrooms where the companions (the people supported by the charity) live on site, the kitchen where companions prepare meals together for each other, and the rooms that are available for short-term emergency use as part of a local scheme to keep people off the streets.
Staff and companions explained how funds can be used to support the Emmaus personal development scheme, where companions are supported both holistically and financially to develop new skills (or build on existing ones), boost their confidence, improve mental and/or physical health and wellbeing and increase employability. This can involve covering the cost of formal training courses; providing an interview suit; purchasing a bicycle for getting into work or even funding driving lessons to enable working further afield.
Hermes CEO, Martijn de Lange, said: “Homelessness is an issue that has continued to grow since the beginning of the pandemic, and our people have embraced our decision to partner with Emmaus and have been tireless in their fundraising to support this fantastic charity. We’ve had to get creative over the last year with lockdowns preventing us from hosting in-person fundraising events, but despite this we have still been able to support Emmaus, which has gone on to make a positive difference to people experiencing homelessness. In the new year, we’ll be exploring other ways to support the charity including work experience and work placements.”
Charlotte Talbott, chief executive at Emmaus, said: “Hermes are a fantastic partner to work with and continue to provide really valuable support to Emmaus UK. We have benefited from the significant sums fundraised through Hermes hard work and we are also grateful for the opportunity that we have had to raise our profile by having our logo on the Hermes van fleet. Huge thanks to Hermes from Emmaus UK. We look forward to continuing with our partnership in 2022!”
