Donations of more than £30k have made to a local Salvation Army branch after Christmas presents were destroyed by fire.
A local Salvation Army branch has been flooded with nearly £30k worth of donations after Christmas presents were destroyed by a fire.More than 100 toys and 80 hampers were destroyed when a chip shop went up in flames and spread to the neighbouring charity shop.The Christmas gifts had been donated to the branch in St Ives, Cornwall, to help families in need.But following the devastating blaze on Friday, staff at the charity say they are overwhelmed after being inundated with donations - so far totalling £28,375.The money has been donated through a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the charity.Crews from 17 fire stations rushed to the scene on Friday and fought the flames until the early hours of Saturday morning.The area had be evacuated and some were forced to leave their homes.Speaking to the BBC, Nathan Loxley from the charity said that the online donation page "just exploded".He said: "We still need more toys, we still need more food, but we've got great volunteers who are manning those stations for us."He said the "devastation" to the fish and chip shop where the blaze began, next door to the Salvation army centre, was "harrowing."He added: "But there has been that hope in the middle of it all and there has been that real sense of people coming together."That's how it has been for all of 2020, it's been a hard year."But the way the community in St Ives keep supporting each other is really inspirational."The donation page reads: "The last few months have seen immense suffering and hardship from storms and flooding. "However the outbreak of the coronavirus has quite literally changed everyone's lives and turned society upside down."However, The Salvation Army is resolute and strong and just as we did in the Spanish Flu pandemic, and during the bombing and the Blitz, we will carry on, doing what we can to support people and communities in the ways that we can, within the Government guidelines."In true Salvation Army Spirit, our greatest strength is our flexible, responsive local presence. "Right now, each of our 650 corps and community centres will know exactly what the most effective things are to do."We are not just responding to the virus impact in one or two ways, but dozens and dozens of different ways, from food banks to counselling, from supporting NHS isolation units to checking up on people who are living alone"Please give what you can to enable us to help as many people as possible!"Any one who wishes to donate should visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/salvation-army-st-ives
A local Salvation Army branch has been flooded with nearly £30k worth of donations after Christmas presents were destroyed by a fire.More than 100 toys and 80 hampers were destroyed when a chip shop went up in flames and spread to the neighbouring charity shop.The Christmas gifts had been donated to the branch in St Ives, Cornwall, to help families in need.But following the devastating blaze on Friday, staff at the charity say they are overwhelmed after being inundated with donations - so far totalling £28,375.The money has been donated through a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the charity.Crews from 17 fire stations rushed to the scene on Friday and fought the flames until the early hours of Saturday morning.The area had be evacuated and some were forced to leave their homes.Speaking to the BBC, Nathan Loxley from the charity said that the online donation page "just exploded".He said: "We still need more toys, we still need more food, but we've got great volunteers who are manning those stations for us."He said the "devastation" to the fish and chip shop where the blaze began, next door to the Salvation army centre, was "harrowing."He added: "But there has been that hope in the middle of it all and there has been that real sense of people coming together."That's how it has been for all of 2020, it's been a hard year."But the way the community in St Ives keep supporting each other is really inspirational."The donation page reads: "The last few months have seen immense suffering and hardship from storms and flooding.
"However the outbreak of the coronavirus has quite literally changed everyone's lives and turned society upside down."However, The Salvation Army is resolute and strong and just as we did in the Spanish Flu pandemic, and during the bombing and the Blitz, we will carry on, doing what we can to support people and communities in the ways that we can, within the Government guidelines."In true Salvation Army Spirit, our greatest strength is our flexible, responsive local presence.
"Right now, each of our 650 corps and community centres will know exactly what the most effective things are to do."We are not just responding to the virus impact in one or two ways, but dozens and dozens of different ways, from food banks to counselling, from supporting NHS isolation units to checking up on people who are living alone"Please give what you can to enable us to help as many people as possible!"Any one who wishes to donate should visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/salvation-army-st-ives
