Deano Cline and Sara Jones are two of Whyteleafe’s residents who formed the ‘Whyteleafe Committee’ and founded the ’10 Days of Giving’ where local residents donated items on a daily basis to the ‘Whyteleafe Tavern’. Donations included a range of cereals, pasta, tinned goods, crackers for Christmas meals, spices, biscuits, selection boxes, sweets, chocolate, sanitary items, toys and luxury items. Tangible goods have been gifted as well as gifts of time which have been gratefully received and distributed within the community. Shopping trips, picking up prescriptions, dog walking, garden clearing or simply just talking to the elderly are all gifts which have been made to the community hub and also changed many peoples lives this Christmas.
Deano said; “We have been overwhelmed by local peoples generosity and their acts of kindness. We have been surprised by the amount of people that are in need this Christmas in our community, and we are still getting phone calls from people in need. It has been such a wonderful thing to put together, and local shops in Whyteleafe are also looking to get involved in helping us. In these worrying times of Covid it’s nice to know that there are some success stories like ours that are making a difference in the local community.”
Over Christmas, food hampers and toys were delivered to local families including children, and St Lukes church has also gifted money to local families who are struggling. Goods are being stored at the Tavern and the team are still accepting donations.
