New 'giving window' offers another way to support homeless charity
A new 'alternative giving window' to support a charity that helps homeless people has been set up in a town.
It is the second of the units in Shrewsbury, meaning there is now one at the top of Pride Hill, and one at the bottom. They will enable people to donate to The Shrewsbury Ark charity using a specially-designed card machine.
The alternative giving windows are a partnership between Shrewsbury BID and The Ark, and have raised more than £2,600 since first being introduced in 2021.
Neil Jacques, a member of the Shrewsbury BID board, said the windows had been a great success.
He said: “We have moved the alternative giving units around a bit – they can be used in empty shop windows or within an existing window display – and there are now two in Pride Hill, which sees a lot of footfall.
“It’s a great way for people to donate directly to a very worthwhile charity, and to have raised over £2,600 is a significant achievement. We are delighted to be involved.”
Emily Bell, chair of The Shrewsbury Ark, said the alternative giving windows were an important source of funding for the charity.
"The Shrewsbury Ark is incredibly grateful for the donations we receive through the alternative giving scheme in Shrewsbury,” she said.
“The money given goes not only towards the running costs of the day centre which provides life's basic necessities, we also use it to help people who are moving on with their lives, purchasing items for homes, clothes for job interviews and funding additional services from the day centre like trauma counselling and medical clinics.
“We would never want to discourage people from stopping to chat and get to know people begging on the streets, but by donating at the alternative giving windows you're helping to invest in a long-term solution and with prices set to rocket over the next few months we need this support more than ever.”
