Earlier this week we were thrilled to receive a donation from ‘Punkfit’ gym in Binley,  Coventry. Gym clients and staff have been donating all manner of toiletries through December and January. Gym owner Ben surprised us with  a large delivery of toiletries, (for women and men), teabags and children’s items.

What will we do with the donation?

This large donation from Punkfit gym will be shared between the domestic abuse (DA) service and our Free Food Cupboard. We provide ‘Welcome Packs’ to the women and men who we support through our DA service. Often, service users who have fled domestic abuse arrive at Valley House with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. We don’t receive funding for these vital resources and rely on donations to provide them.  The contents of welcome packs vary. Some contain toiletries, underwear and nightwear, others contain the necessities for a babies and very young children and food to help the family feel settled.

Our Free Food Cupboard is for all our service users to take what they need. Service users can get pantry items (such as tinned foods and dried pasta), baby food, and some toiletries, as and when they need them. Our Free Food Cupboard also relies on donations. It is only through donations that we’ve been able to keep it going for two years!

January and February are hard months for donations, as often people

are still feeling the post- Christmas pinch. So we’re extra thrilled. The cost of our welcome packs vary from £10-£120. The donation from Punkfit means we can provide more packs for our service users.

We’d like to send a big THANK YOU to Ben, his staff and clients for their generosity, you’ve helped to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable people in Coventry.

If you’d like support Valley House, you can donate to us here.