Christmas elves make special delivery to Edinburgh foodbank

A group of elves from local building contractor McDermott Group paid a visit to Community One Stop Shop’s Broomhouse Foodbank to give food donations.

The foodbank was one of a number of locations across Scotland which was visited by McDermott Group staff who used their vans to deliver donations to foodbanks and young carer services run by national charity Action for Children.

In total, the company donated £4,500 worth of cash, food and gifts to help people in Inverclyde, Edinburgh, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and West Lothian this festive season. This followed on from last year when Santa-driven McDermott Group vans delivered £3,000 worth of donations to communities across Inverclyde and Glasgow.

Donations to five foodbanks were given by McDermott Group to help stop hunger amongst those living below the poverty line this Christmas. In addition to the Broomhouse Foodbank, they visited Inverclyde Foodbank in Greenock, ng homes’ Possilpark Foodbank in Glasgow, the Salvation Army Foodbank in Hawick and West Lothian Foodbank in Livingston.

The building contractor engaged with foodbank charity The Trussell Trust, West Lothian Council and Edinburgh City Council, along with housing associations River Clyde Homes, ng homes, and Scottish Borders Housing Association, to find local foodbanks to receive their deliveries

The elves also visited Motherwell to deliver presents to children and young people supported by Action for Children’s North Lanarkshire Young Carers service and visited The Pavilion Cinema in Galashiels to gift cinema cards to young carers supported by the charity’s Scottish Borders CHIMES service. In addition to these deliveries, the building contractor’s staff are volunteered to use their vans to help Action for Children distribute presents from Scottish Water to the charity’s centres.

McDermott Group has an ongoing partnership with Action for Children which has included previous fundraising activities and employing young people through the charity to undertake training programmes at McDermott Group sites in Inverclyde and Glasgow.

Ann McLaughlan, Scotland Partnership Co-ordinator for The Trussell Trust, a charity that runs a network of foodbanks, said: “We are delighted that McDermott Group has supported The Trussell Trust this year. There are huge demands on the foodbanks throughout the year but Christmas time is the most difficult when families struggle the most.

“These food donations to foodbanks have made such a huge difference to ensure we have enough food to give to all our clients.  I would also like to pass on my sincere thanks to the Elves who delivered to the foodbanks chosen by McDermott Group.”

Darren McDermott, Managing Director of McDermott Group, said: “From our previous Christmas activity with the charities Action for Children and the Trussell Trust and from speaking to them and other organisations this year, we knew how difficult the festive period can be for a variety of people across Scotland. That is why we went even bigger this Christmas, increasing our donations and making deliveries to even more communities.

“The work done by foodbank charities to provide food for people in need is a valuable and essential service, while Action for Children young carers services make a real difference to the lives of children and young people who look after someone in their family who is unwell or disabled. McDermott Group is currently working on a number of local projects in Scotland and it is important for us that we give back. That is why our elves delivered donations to help disadvantaged families and young carers this Christmas.”