Helping the Homeless in Cornwall

Sands General Manager Leeanne, myself and Russell and Mark from St Petroc's Society.

I`m super excited to let you all know that over the festive season myself and the team at Sands Resort Hotel will be fundraising to help the homeless in Cornwall. All funds raised will be donated to St Petroc’s Society, a Cornish charity which works with single homeless people in Cornwall. 

Why I want to do this…
I have been asked by many of my clients and friends why I have chosen to fundraise and help people that need this charity.

I’m not going to lie, I haven’t always felt compassionate about homelessness. Once upon a time it would be fair to say I didn’t really give them a spare thought. I also found them incredibly intimidating whilst walking past them and seeing them sat or laid in a doorway covered in cardboard and sleeping bags.

It wasn’t until I watched a documentary on the BBC a few years ago called ‘Famous, Rich and Homeless’ that I realised how incredibly tough, lonely and demoralising being in this situation is for people, and how easy it is for lucky people like you and I to turn our noses up and assume they are there down to their own life choices.

Please feel free to click on the link that takes you to the page about the programme and features the episodes that you can watch, hopefully it will touch you in the same way it did me.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00r9297
 
So, here’s what me, the girls in the salon and the team at Sands Resort Hotel are doing to help raise awareness on what can sometimes be considered a dark area, and hopefully raise some pennies for the amazing charity St Petroc’s.
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Haircuts for the homeless
On Sunday 3rd December I will be opening the salon and with the help of Ros and Caroline we are inviting the homeless to come and have a free haircut, a nice hot chocolate and a mince pie, and some yummy turkey and cranberry rolls kindly supplied by the kitchen at Sands Resort Hotel.

The very talented musician Tommy Armstrong will be playing Christmas songs on his guitar to entertain us all.

Mark, the outreach worker for St Petroc’s, will be bringing clients to us on the day from various stage one housing accommodations throughout North Cornwall.

​People living in these conditions are still considered homeless but have taken the brave steps to better their lives and for some means quitting their addictions to alcohol / illegal substances, as under no circumstances is anyone allowed to be living in this type of accommodation whilst using un-prescribed drugs or under the influence of alcohol.

The Grand Prize Draw Raffle
Me and the girlies in the spa have made two amazing Christmas hampers with the best goodies in. I wish I could enter myself!!! Both hampers include

• A free cut and blow-dry and colour service donated by Hair by Jodie Young
• Hair products donate by Hair by Jodie Young
• Moroccan spa experience for 4 people donated by Sands Resort Hotel
• Spiezia products donated by Ocean Breeze Spa
• 3 months gym membership donated by Sands Resort Hotel
• Meal for two in a luxury restaurant donated by Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s Bistro
• Luxury chocolates donated by Kelly Ann Flowers
  
  

We will be selling tickets for £1.50 each or £5 for a strip, all proceeds raised will be going to St Petroc’s Society. 

Clothing donations
In the run up to Christmas we will be taking clothing donations from the public. We are looking for the following items, both male and female. 

• Coats
• Scarves
• Hats
• Socks
• Trousers
• Jumpers
• Tops
• Gloves
• Bedding
• Sleeping bags
• Towels
• Jeans
• Rucksacks
• Saucepans

Should you have any of these things that you no longer need and would like to donate, please deliver to Sands Resort Hotel where we will have a drop-bin for you to use in the reception area of the hotel. We will be taking donations until Friday 22nd December.

These items would greatly be appreciated and can make a big difference to so many individuals. 

​I’m donating my tips
From the 1st December until we close on the 23rd of December I will be donating all of my tips to St Petroc’s Society, so to all my gorgeous clients, get tipping, it’s for a really good cause xxx

Local Giving page
We have set up a Local Giving page, where you can make donations for an amount of your choice. All money raised will be going to St Petroc’s Society.

Here the link to the page: ​https://localgiving.org/fundraising/helping-homeless-cornwall/

Obviously, we would like to raise as much money as we can for a worthy cause.

However, a big driving force for me wanting to carry out a fundraising campaign for homelessness, is to raise awareness about the people in our society that have no home, no family support, no job, mental health issues and possibly battling addiction with alcohol and illegal substances.

It’s easy for people like us to judge and get on with our busy lives, but none of us know their stories and why they are homeless.

I feel that it is our duty as human beings to try our best to help one another and be grateful for the things in our lives that we take for granted. Such as a roof over our heads, hot water, heating, beds to sleep in, family that love us, food in our fridge, running water, the list is endless.

Some people might feel that certain individuals are addicts who won’t help themselves. Please let me ask you a question: “if you were stripped of a place to call home, had no money, no job, no family or friends, how would you cope?”

Don’t judge, let’s change our attitudes and help one another. Next time you see a homeless person on the street, make eye contact, give them a smile, or even stop and say ‘hi’. Let’s help by making them feel they are part of Society.

And finally, as lovely as it is that we are all pulling together to help those in need over the festive period. I’d like to stress that this is a charity that helps people all year round. These are individuals that need help and support from us to get their lives back together.

As a way of showing continued support to those in need, I will be working with St Petroc’s and be offering free haircuts for those that have the opportunity of permanent housing or a job interview.

I feel this way I can help build their confidence and help them feel part of society. After all we all know a good haircut can make all the difference to one’s self esteem! 

Thank you so much for your support!!

Jodie xx