Preston North End Community and Education Trust has been awarded a £5,000 grant for its PNECET Helping Hampers campaign, a joint initiative with the football club to support vulnerable members of the community affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
The grant, awarded by the Lancashire COVID-19 Community Support Fund and the National Emergencies Trust, will allow the Trust to support members of its Sporting Memories, walking football and PNE Forces programmes.
Helping Hampers will contain essential food and drink items, along with engaging materials such as puzzle books, exercise sheets and Preston North End matchday programmes to ensure recipients remain occupied at home while adhering to government guidelines.
Harriet Creighton-Levis, Assistant Head of Preston North End Community and Education Trust, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this grant, which will allow us to further support the most vulnerable people in Preston who are accessing our programmes.
“At this unprecedented time, we want to support those who have been affected by COVID-19. We know that some people are unable to leave their homes due to this crisis but we want to show the Preston community that they are not alone.
“We are here to support those who access our programmes, but also continue to take requests from vulnerable members of the community to provide additional support to them as well.
“We have now begun putting together our helping hampers and will begin delivery later this week.
“We would like to place on record our thanks to The Cardboard Box Company for gifting 200 boxes to support this initiative, Aldi Deepdale who have gone above and beyond to source our supplies, and Lancashire Police who have provided PPE for our team and will be supporting the delivery of our hampers.
“It is great to see communities coming together as one to support each other through this challenging time.”
If you would like to nominate someone to receive a helping hamper, please contact community@pne.com.