A Hackney organisation needs the public’s help to bring Christmas hampers to east London families.
BADU Community, formerly BADU Sports, has launched it’s That Moment When Campaign with aims to raise £30,000 to provide 300 festive holiday hampers to families in east London over the seasonal period.
Based in Olympic Park’s Here East, the organisation had previously mobilised young volunteers to man a food bank and help-line during the first coronavirus lockdown in March.
READ MORE: Local Heroes: Young Hackney volunteers support their communities during Covid-19 outbreakNana Badu, founder of BADU, said: “We’ve supported young people and families in east London for years, but 2020 has placed unprecedented pressure on people who were already struggling.
“Unstable incomes, unemployment, uncertainty, bereavement, isolation and the immense mental health pressures faced by families in some of the most deprived parts of London has been mounting during the pandemic.”
Research released in September by the Trussell Trust, a charity network of 1,200 food bank centres, forecasts it will be giving out six emergency food parcels a minute this winter. It predicts a 61 per cent increase in need.
Trussell Trust data revealed that during the start of the pandemic about half of people using food banks had never needed one before.
BADU’s campaign is calling for donations to help people struggling over the Christmas period, by delivering hampers containing festive food, crackers, presents, supermarket vouchers for gas and electricity and activity packs.
It is also working directly with schools in Hackney and neighbouring boroughs to identify families who would most benefit from support.
The organisation also plans to tailor the contents of the hamper to each families specific cultural needs.
READ MORE: Local heroes: Inspired by Captain Tom Moore Hackney 7 year-old cycles 100 miles for charityNana told the Gazette: “Our festive campaign is aimed at bringing some respite to the pressure and putting a smile on their faces. This is only one aspect of what we do at BADU, we have a huge task ahead to ensure young people in London have the same opportunities and that struggling families get the support they need.”
The name of the campaign, That Moment When, refers to the moment when someone has a spark of joy or sense of togetherness over the Christmas period. The campaign has run for two years and in 2018 BADU reached 70 families which included 106 children.
In 2019 it reached 167 families and 423 children and this year, in light of the coronavirus pandemic the organisation wants to reach even more people.
BADU is based at Plexal in Here East, the former Olympic press and broadcast centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which is now home to a community of 4,000 startups, academics, students and social enterprises. Through mentoring, in-school programmes and activities, BADU supports young people and their families with an emphasis on teaching through sport. Here East is a sponsor of this year’s campaign, along with corporate sponsors like Nike and Sky Cares.
To donate visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/badu-that-momen-when?utm_term=BgjAxjZEzor
The deadline for donations for the That Moment When is 6 December 2020.
For more information visit www.badusports.co.uk/
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