A South Holland organisation set up by a local woman, initially to help Ukrainian refugees, has officially launched its hub and brand new charity shop.
Boxes of Hope has already been operating out of the former Lloyds/TSB bank on High Street in Holbeach.
Now the community interest group has also opened the Community Miracle shop across the road.
They recently held a special day to celebrate the opening.
Mandy Baxter started it all by sending one box of aid to Ukraine following that country’s invasion by the Russian army in March 2022.
Since then it’s sent 24 lorries of aid to Ukraine and provided assistance to 162 separate families in 2023 alone.
Among those at the opening day were the weekly craft sessions showcasing what they do that anybody is able to join on a Thursday from 10am.
Some of those who regularly attend to provide help, including representatives from the Citizens Advice Bureau and Barclays Bank were in attendance.
It was highlighted there’s mental health community communicators there as well as twice weekly Nighlight Cafe and weekly Good Mood Cafe along with a worker trained to handle domestic abuse situations.
And there was the soft opening of Community Miracle selling a host of pre-loved goods including furniture and uniform items for local schools.
Tracy Topliss will manage the shop having met Mandy when she sponsored a Ukrainian refugee family to stay with them.
“It’s all about keeping Boxes of Hope sustainable,” Tracy said. “We want to become a place for families to go.
“We’re selling a host of items and have had a grant to help us refurbish items like furniture to sell.
“We also have a host of school uniforms which can be really handy as children grow out of their old ones so quickly.”
Boxes of Hope’s mission statement says it’s ‘to help empower families and individuals regain control of their lives by offering practical and welllbeing support.
‘We will deal with every situation with utmost integrity and compassion without prejudice,’ it continues.
Mandy said: “We always wanted Boxes of Hope to be sustainable so we can continue to run it to help those that need it
“We received a £25,000 grant from the Postcode Lottery to help open the Community Miracle and that will hopefully go a long way.
“We’re also looking for people to donate the cost of one coffee a week (£5) as part of our Cost of a Coffee campaign.”
South Holland District Council chair Andrew Woolf was among those in attendance.
“It’s remarkable what they’ve done,” he said. “It’s helped so many people.
“Mandy is just an absolute credit to the area. Everybody should get behind the centre.”
The Boxes Of Hope hub is open 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.
The Community Miracle Shop will be open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.
For more information, including how to donate to the Cost of a Coffee appeal, visit www.boxesofhope.co.uk
