Karbon Homes, Flooring Superstore, NICE Network and other businesses from across the region have come together to help launch a homelessness charity’s Christmas appeal to raise vital funds following a rise in rough sleepers during this year’s lockdowns
Earlier this month, Oasis Community Housing
launched their ‘Giving a Home’ campaign with
both a virtual, and a life-size gingerbread house
located at Gateshead’s Tesco Extra.
The Gateshead-based charity hopes the appeal will
aid their continued work delivering food, warmth
and medicines, along with counselling and a safe,
stable environment to people facing homelessness
throughout Christmas and 2021. While also
encouraging people to celebrate their own home
– in a year that has involved spending more time
indoors than ever before.
David Smith, Oasis Community Housing’s Chief
Executive, explains: “Our teams do early morning
outreach on the streets and they are seeing a real
spike in rough sleeping, and meeting many people
who are newly homeless. 2020 has been tough
for all of us, but can you imagine what it would
be like not to have somewhere safe and warm to
stay when everywhere else is closed? Our Giving
a Home appeal is about providing just that; more
than simply a roof overhead.”
The appeal’s online launch event invited businesses
to tune in wearing their best black and gold
attire – the charity’s colours – for an afternoon of
live music, charity stories and virtual fireworks.
Commenting on their involvement, Terri Hamilton
of NICE Network, a Sunderland-based Telecoms
Solutions company, said: “We are delighted to be
able to come together to support this exciting
event, and help make a big difference for people
facing homelessness this winter and into the New
Year.”
The virtual version of the ‘Giving a Home’
gingerbread house can be seen online, with
donations from businesses and individuals able
to ‘buy’ bricks, roof tiles and other festive treats
to help ‘build’ the confectionery home. For every
£2,000 raised a gingerbread person will move into
the house, enabling the charity to offer a real home
to someone facing homelessness throughout 2021
– with a generous donation from Karbon Homes,
which owns and manages almost 30,000 properties
across the North East and Yorkshire, having already
kick-started the appeal.
The charity’s real-life gingerbread house sits
just outside Trinity Square’s Tesco Extra on
snow frosted grass, which was gifted by Flooring
Superstore. Greig Anderson, Flooring Superstore’s
Regional Manager, commented: “As a business with
its head office in the North East, as well as several
stores, we are always pleased to be able to support
organisations and charities who are making a
difference to so many people in our region. Oasis
Community Housing are a perfect example. We
wish them every success with their gingerbread
house initiative.”
‘Giving a Home’, and the gingerbread houses,
will run until the end of January 2021. Oasis’
Chief Executive David Smith added: “We couldn’t
do what we do without the generous support
of businesses and individuals, so please do get
involved by spreading the word with a selfie at the
gingerbread house or by making a donation – it all
goes towards us giving a home to someone who
desperately needs it this Christmas and New Year.”
