A £5 donation will support the creation of one activity pack for a foodbank user in Manchester.

COVID-19 has brought financial difficulties for many people across the UK; with income lost or reduced, growing worries about putting food on the table, and many navigating the benefits system for the first time.

Keeping good mental health practices are paramount during the pandemic, however, with libraries and community resources closed, many cant access a computer, online resources, or books and films for families and adults. Manchester Central Foodbank is creating a creative arts pack with artist collective Get It Done to help provide everyone from families to individuals, refugees to those in temporary accommodation, with an opportunity and resource to entertain, engage and challenge themselves; making sure isolated and vulnerable individuals do not get left behind during the pandemic. 

The activity packs will be filled with activities focused on improving wellbeing and mindfulness, and will encourage participants to think critically about our communities and how collectively we can create change post-pandemic. To make the art pack open to everybody no matter their circumstance, well be providing the printed pack, felt tips, crayons, art supplies and paper needed for the exercises. For this, we are reaching out to you for help. We are launching a campaign to raise money for the creation of 400 packs, including art supplies and a professionally printed booklet. 

Many people have experienced extreme hardship as a result of this pandemic and it is important that we recognise that the lockdown has affected some worse than others. Manchester Central Foodbank has seen first-hand the effects on our community this has had. Through the packs we will support families without the provisions that many take for granted and help relieve the overwhelming mental burdens of the pandemic on adults, allowing recipients to creatively reflect and express themselves. 

The resulting art pieces will contribute to an online archive of narratives of poverty that we are creating, amplifying voices that are too often unheard or ignored, and form part of two exhibitions at The Whitworth and Manchester Central Library in 2021. Working with some of the recipients of the pack later in the year we plan to present a manifesto for change to local councils across Greater Manchester to help inform future social wellbeing policies for our area.

Please support us in our campaign to help vulnerable individuals and make creative change across Manchester.