People Stories
Meet Joan, an attendee of our Over-65s project:
Joan, 91, is a retired secretary, who was busy and active until her husband passed away in 2021. Joan became lonely and her deteriorating health made her feel housebound. She received support from our Over-65s advocate and began attending our Over 65s Coffee Morning last year.
Read more “Meet Joan”
People Stories
Michael was overwhelmed with over £10k in debt when he reached out to our Debt Advice service. Our debt advisors helped Michael put everything into perspective, gather all the documents. They contacted his creditors and came up with manageable payment plans. This helped ease the pressure Michael was feeling from the weight of his debts.
Read more “Meet Michael”
People Stories
When John first came out of jail, he used Bonny Down’s foodbank. The wraparound advice and support that came with it helped him turn his life around and gain work as a handyman. John wanted a way to give back to the community, so has been volunteering for our Foodbank and Food Club.
Read more “Meet John”
People Stories
Varsha moved to East Ham during the pandemic and struggled with food insecurity and support for her child with SEND. She was referred to our Foodbank, where she received the emergency food parcel and a kind listening ear. This helped her access further support with nappies, children’s clothing, attending skills courses and a supportive community through our Family Hub, where she currently volunteers.
Read more “Meet Varsha”
People Stories
“If I didn’t have Bonny Downs, I’d be sitting at home depressed and lonely.”
77-year-old Rose is a regular at our Zumba sessions and volunteers for our CommuniTEA Café weekly. She enjoys meeting people, telling them about activities that might interest them and making them feel cheerful.
Read more “Meet Rosetta”
Volunteer
We have 100’s of visitors per week come to our hub and that’s a lot of cups and plates to wash! Do you enjoy tidying and keeping things clean and organised? We need someone to load and unload our dishwasher, wash up, put the tea towels on a hot wash and ensure all our surfaces are clean and wiped down after each session.
Read more “Kitchen Champion Volunteer”
Volunteer
We are looking for a driver to collect a trolley full of donated food for our Foodbank from Tesco’s Gallions Reach every Friday and then deliver back to our hub in East Ham.
Read more “Donation Collection Driver”
Volunteer
At our Foodbank and Family Hub we have rails of beautiful, donated clothing on display for people to browse. We give away these clothes to those that need them the most, but we also offer them at a subsidised rate to those that can afford it so that any money made can go straight back into our charity. We need people who can sort through donations, rotate the stock on the rails and keep a record of the clothes given away.
Read more “Clothes Bank Facilitator”
Volunteer
Three days a week at our hub, we offer free community hot meals. We need people to help plan and prepare nutritious hot meals for up to 70 people per day in our onsite kitchen and then serve it with a smile!
Read more “Food Hub Cook”
Volunteer
Each week at our hub, we host a Community Food Club, offering £25-£30 worth of groceries at a member’s rate of £5. This initiative and partnership with Felix and Newham Food Alliance helps to combat food waste and keep groceries at a low cost.
Read more “Food Club Table Host”