A busy Ludlow charity is getting a helping hand to provide a Christmas lunch to those in need and the lonely thanks to the generosity of a new business to the town.<\/p>\n
Hands Together Ludlow\u2019s annual Christmas Day lunch at their Lower Galdeford headquarters in the town will provide up to 40 meals for those who might otherwise spend Christmas on their own.<\/p>\n
On the menu will be traditional roast turkey and Christmas pud with vegetarian and vegan options and with some seasonal treats paid for by a \u00a3100 donation from Lock Stock Self-Storage who recently opened a new storage park at Highlands Farm, near Brimfield.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a welcome Christmas bonus for Hands Together Ludlow, founded in 2012, which has seen demand for its services explode , particularly since the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Operations Manager Susie O\u2019Hagan heads a team of six staff and over 100 volunteers who provide a range of services including the Food Hub and Community Fridge, a Men\u2019s Shed, the Good Grief Caf\u00e9, Walks for All, Social Space including mindful colouring, lucky dip lunch and board games, and even emergency dog walking and computer skills.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWe\u2019re very grateful to Lock Stock because we serve Christmas Day lunch here for up to 40 people who might otherwise be on their own and we deliver to those who can\u2019t get out so it can be as many as 50 Christmas dinners that we provide.<\/p>\n
\u201cHands Together was started 12 years ago after a Ludlow Under Pressure report discovered gaps in provision across the town. We became a registered charity in 2017 and have continued to grow, especially since Covid and taking on our building in Lower Galdeford.<\/p>\n
\u201cVisitors might think Ludlow is a prosperous market town but two of the seven wards have been in the country\u2019s most disadvantaged categories.<\/p>\n
\u201cShropshire Council estimate that every volunteer hour is worth \u00a316.07 in social value and by that measure by the end of the year our volunteers will have put over \u00a3176,770 back into the town. We couldn\u2019t do what we do without them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver a ton of food comes in every month and we have an amazing team here but we also rely on businesses like Lock Stock who are helping us with the Christmas dinners, and Ludlow Farm Shop who give us the turkey and Christmas puds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lock Stock Self-Storage this year opened new storage parks at Brimfield and in Craven Arms to their existing Shropshire sites in Shrewsbury and Oswestry and Area Manager Richard Warner said: \u201cWe do like to get involved with the communities where we operate and it\u2019s our way of saying thank you for their support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have just opened new sites locally and this is clearly a much-needed service and hopefully Lock Stock will have played a part in bringing some Christmas cheer to local households.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team of volunteers here clearly do a fantastic job at what is a very difficult time for so many people and we like to support the community in the places where we are in business whether that\u2019s charities like Hands Together or local schools and community groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lock Stock, founded in Denbigh in 1999, is the UK\u2019s largest containerised storage company with almost 4,500 units providing over four million cubic feet of space at 29 storage parks across Shropshire, North and Mid Wales and Merseyside.<\/p>\n
The company estimates that 60 per cent of their containers are rented by people moving house or keeping treasured possessions but up to 40 per cent, almost 2,000 of their containers are used by small businesses for storing materials.<\/p>\n
Lock Stock also specialise in the off-site hire of containers, delivered to your location by their specialist lorry and hired on a month-by-month basis. The containers are 10, 20 and 40 feet in length.<\/p>\n
They can also use their lorry to relocate a container, contents and all, to a different Lock Stock site in the event of a house or business move.<\/p>\n
For information about Lock Stock Self Storage including off-site container hire contact them on 01745 817178 or go to https:\/\/lockstock.biz\/<\/a><\/p>\n For more information about the work of Hands Together Ludlow go to https:\/\/handstogetherludlow.org.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n