An Easter Message from Peter Mitchell, Executive Chair, The Big Help Project (Knowsley Foodbank)
As we celebrate Easter 2021, we look back on the anniversary of a year that changed everything-not just for The Big Help Project, but for communities across the nation, who saw lives altered forever by the Covid-19 pandemic. Just last week, a day of reflection recognised the catastrophic loss of life caused by this virus, and marked one full year since the first lockdown was announced in March 2020.
At The Big Help Project, we joined with the country in paying our respects, an act of pause after a year that has seen us stretch our resources, our tenacity and our team ethos further than ever. As a faith-based organisation, we believe that we are set no task that we cannot complete; this belief has been sorely tested over the past twelve months. However, by keeping true to our core purpose of feeding the hungry without judgement or reservation, we rode the storm that was-and still is-Covid 19. Our faith has been rewarded a hundred-fold, with unprecedented numbers of people accessing our food support services. This is an achievement only made possible through countless acts of compassion and kindness from all across the community, the incredible dedication of our team of volunteers, and the unstinting generosity of our funders and sponsors, that we cannot even begin to express the scale of our gratitude for.
But Covid-19 has brought us the realisation of a deeper lesson and a greater opportunity for growth. Alongside our food support services, we have been working towards the next chapter of the story of The Big Help Project in this, our tenth anniversary year. Our plans to launch supported housing beyond Liverpool’s borders has become a reality; we are delivering wellbeing projects to our tenants and helping them to build a new life that they can take pride in; our Food Banks and Food Hubs have built strong and lasting links with partner organisations across the city, reaching the vulnerable and the shielded during full lock-down to ensure that no-one is our city-wide community was left behind. And we have, this month, moved our housing projects and main offices into purpose-built premises in Boaler Street, the first time we have had a base in the City of Liverpool.
This is a hugely significant milestone for The Big Help Project. With our Food Support and Trading Arm staying in our Huyton warehouse, we now have operational bases and offices across the five boroughs of the Liverpool City Region. This will not only give our services unprecedented reach, but will be an opportunity for us to listen to new communities and understand their needs. This can only serve to strengthen the whole of The Big Help Project, as we move through the end of the pandemic and into the hard work of recovery and the rebuilding not only of a decimated economy, but of communities that are still dealing with massive loss and collective trauma.
The Big Help Project, in common with the whole country, will remember 2020 as the year of Covid-19. But within that, we give thanks for the people from across all sectors of the community who, through their kindness, enabled us to be there for those facing hunger. The daffodils that are gracing our parks and verges this week grow from bulbs rooted in coldest, darkest time of year, and their arrival heralds the triumph of hope over despair. As The Big Help Project moves into the new premises next week, we believe that the love and support that has sustained us over the past ten years-and especially, over the past twelve months-will continue to bring forth hope for us, our clients and our communities, as we take root in new soil.
We wish everyone a peaceful and blessed Easter holidays.
2 APRIL 2021