A consignment of Easter eggs will help struggling families celebrate the holiday weekend along the North Wales coast thanks to a local community group.
The Hummingbird Project, has just taken delivery of 100 of the chocolate treats from Denbigh-based storage giant Lock Stock Self Storage and they’ll soon be winging their way out for the Easter weekend.
The not-for-profit Community Interest company, which was launched two and a half years ago, is based in Abergele and serves the North Wales coast from Prestatyn to Conwy and inland to Denbigh and Llanrwst.
Founder Pam Lake began running it from her garage in Abergele but it has since expanded to the Hummingbird Hub in the town and to a storage unit at the nearby Lock Stock storage park at Pensarn.
They aim to help people out with the everyday essentials including furniture, warm coats and even beds, cots, prams and household items.
Pam said: “We began in 2021 having notice the impact of the cost of living crisis which had a devastating effect on people who were already struggling.
“We worked for the first year at our home but the need was growing and we had to look for premises so we initially took a small unit in Abergele before acquiring our current Hub.
“We hired a 20-foot storage unit with Lock Stock to store our furniture and it is useful to have somewhere to keep large items ready for distribution.
“The project is community led, and we respond to needs as they arise. We have found that many families are in need of beds and we have sourced and donated lots of these, together with bedding, duvets and pillows.
“Since last March we have provided 168 beds to homes, mainly single beds, as well as double beds and cots.
“We know that many children sleep on the floor or with siblings and by providing beds we give them the space they need for a good night’s rest.
“These things cost money – even charity shops have to find money for rent which has gone up so their prices have as well.
“We’ve done 550 keep warm packs this winter with a beautiful fluffy blanket, a hot water bottle, hats, gloves, socks and even sachets of hot drinks and soups – they’re like a warm hug.
“This was funded through the UK government Shared Prosperity Fund and their grant also enables us to host a weekly welcome session at the Hub and we’ve also had a grant from Cartrefi Conwy housing association and support from the Big Lottery Fund.
“Everyone we help is referred to us by helping services, including schools, family teams, churches and local authorities.
“At Christmas we bought 5,500 Christmas presents and they went out in three sessions over nine hours and every child received a Santa Sack with a book, chocolate and a teddy bear.
“Everyone has things they don’t need any more and there are people who need things they haven’t got and we try to be the go between.”
Rob Sharpe, a volunteer who manages the storage container at the Lock Stock site, said: “Double buggies are like gold dust and someone even went out and bought one for us.
“At Christmas we had a young man come round from a local company to see what we needed and they all donated their Christmas bonus to be split between us and the local food bank – people are amazing.
“The Project works using social media, and the Facebook Group The Hummingbird Project North Wales has over 2,000 members and is the best place to find out what we are working on each week.”
Lock Stock Regional Sites Manager Lee Hanson said: “We’re always keen to play our part in the communities where we operate and we like to get involved with charities and good causes like the Hummingbird Project.
“We’ve seen how busy they are here in Abergele and the amount of demand there is for the services they provide and we’re just happy to help out.”
