Wood Street Mission is a registered children’s charity, helping to support families in need in Manchester and Salford for over 150 years.
Their amazing history of supporting children dates back to the 1800’s, when Deansgate was nothing more than a squalid slum, and Salford and Hulme had similar poor quality of living. Local missionary Alfred Alsop decided to do something about it, and Manchester and Salford Street Children’s Mission was born. Just look at this amazing picture below.
A building on Wood Street soon followed in 1873 to provide the basic necessities of life namely food, shelter and clothing. Christmas breakfasts and parties along with day trips were later provided to bring some joy to the lives of these young children. In 1897 a summer camp was built at St Anne’s on Sea and by the time the charity turned 50 years old in 1919, over 50,000 children had spent a week at the seaside. A permanent seaside holiday home was built in 1922 which provided holidays for children for 41 years until the building was sold and a new one acquired in the Derbyshire countryside.
Today, still operating from its Wood Street building, the charity no longer has a religious mission but continues its core focus of improving the lives and prospects of local children, through projects focused on literacy and education, whilst still providing clothing, bedding, toiletries and other essentials. Still retaining their independence, the charity rely on the help and support of individuals, schools, churches, businesses and voluntary groups.
Currently, the charity are asking for:
• Children’s Clothing – age 3 years upwards
• Bedding including new or excellent quality laundered used duvets – single or double
• Towels
• Toys, games and children’s books
• Non-branded school uniform, stationery and sports kit towards our SmartStart Appeal
• Baby equipment (prams, cots, moses baskets, highchairs, pushchairs, safety gates)
• New toiletries and nappies, baby wipes and baby food
• New children’s shoes
However they cannot accept any of the following:
• Broken toys, soft toys or big toys e.g. bikes or doll houses
• Used shoes or trainers
• Used underwear, socks or pyjamas
• Dirty, stained or torn clothing and bedding
• Wool blankets
• Adults clothing and books
• Bric a brac
• Furniture
• Electrical items
• Car seats, baby walkers, travel cots, swinging cribs, side by side double buggies
If you can help, items can be dropped off at Wood Street Mission or if you aren’t able to drop off donations, the charity van collects donations from around the majority of the Greater Manchester area, please call 0161 834 3140 to book a collection or email collections@woodstreetmission.org.uk
Here at Sheridan Lifts we are running our own collection of items. So, a third option would be to drop off your items with us here at Sheridan Lifts and we will arrange safe delivery to the charity for you.
Many thanks in advance to everyone for their help.