The church is now working with The Hygiene Bank Farnham which is now using St George’s to store and sort products to go out to those in need of support.

The Hygiene Bank Farnham is part of a nationwide network of hygiene banks and its goal is to tackle hygiene poverty in our own community. 

Miranda Morey, Farnham Area Project Coordinator for The Hygiene Bank, writes:

“We believe that feeling clean and being able to present our best selves to the world is integral to not only our physical health, but to our self-worth and well-being as individuals, and something everyone in our community deserves whatever their circumstances. 

“Sadly, research by In Kind Direct tells us that over a third of people in the UK have had to cut down on buying hygiene products, or go without these altogether, for financial reasons – the number rises to over half in 18-24 year olds. 

“Since 2018 The Hygiene Bank has grown to over 100 branches and more than 200 volunteers working across the country – branches collect, sort and redistribute donated hygiene and cleaning products via different local community organisations, to those who need them. 

“Our branch has been operating across the Farnham and Aldershot area since early 2019, and in that time we have distributed over 1 tonne of hygiene products via our 12 local partner organisations that include food banks, schools, youth groups, Citizen’s Advice Waverley, Homestart Waverley, and Waverley Family Centre.

“We collect products – everything from toothbrushes and toothpaste, to nappies and soap (these must be new and unopened).  We usually do this via public donation points across the community, e.g. in Tesco, but during the pandemic these are closed, meaning we are struggling to collect our usual donations.

“We have been overwhelmed by local community support, with people organising street collections on our behalf, or donating products via our online wishlist at www.easho.co.uk.  If you would like to find out more about us or to donate, do email us at thbfarnham@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/thehygienebankfarnham.”