Northumberland Estates makes large donation to The People's Kitchen homelessness charity

The People’s Kitchen in Newcastle was Northumberland Estates’ 2023 charity of the year.

Funds were raised throughout the year by staff and a donation from the Northumberland Estates Community Fund.

Various fundraising events were held including a bingo night, an abseil at Alnwick Castle, coffee mornings, raffles, sponsored walks and a wreath making workshop.

The People’s Kitchen is a safe haven for those people whose lives can be chaotic.

The charity supports those who might be sleeping rough, or recently placed in housing with no belongings. Many of the people that access the charities services don’t have access to nutritious food or have a support system around them.

The People’s Kitchen make life on the streets a little easier by sharing hot meals and packages of clothing, toiletries, food, mobile phones and sleeping bags.

The charity also works with services to enable people to move off the streets and provide food, furniture and bedding. As well as offering friendship and professional services to improve mental wellbeing.

Maggie Pavlou, a trustee at The People’s Kitchen, said: “We were delighted to be chosen as Northumberland Estates' charity of the year for 2023.

"As a volunteer-run charity, we are extremely grateful to the team at Northumberland Estates for their financial support and to all the staff who gave up their time to volunteer for us.

"This amazing amount of money raised and increased awareness will make a huge difference to those who use The People's Kitchen.”

As part of the Estate’s employee-supported volunteering programme, staff took part in four volunteer days throughout the year at the charity’s base.

Approximately 250-300 homeless and vulnerable people are fed by the charity each day, and staff were able to support their work by cleaning, preparing food and sorting donated clothing.

Northumberland Estates Community Fund was created to provide support to community groups, voluntary organisations and environmental projects that improve the quality of life across the region.

Since its formation in 2019, the Community Fund has supported over 500 organisations across the North East and continues to welcome applications from eligible groups.