The Salvation Army will recycle unwanted tents and camping equipment at the end of Bestival to use in their work supporting the most vulnerable local people experiencing homelessness. The church and charity is also appealing to the festival’s traders to donate unopened and edible food that is still in date.
After the 4-day event, volunteers will search the Bestival site for discarded tents and sleeping bags that are in good condition while edible food will also be collected and redistributed to vulnerable islanders that the charity supports.
The Salvation Army plans to use these across their emergency homelessness response service and to establish new social enterprise initiatives from its Lifehouse in Ryde, Fellowship House.
Jamie Brenchley, Service Manager of The Salvation Army’s Homelessness Services on the Isle of Wight said:
“As an organisation we are committed to providing opportunities that support individuals find their purpose in life. We aim to transform vulnerable people’s lives and support them on their individual journeys from street to home.
“This project is an exciting opportunity to work in partnership with the Bestival and other local organisations. We hope to use this project as one of our many tools, to positively impact the many vulnerable marginalised people within our local community.
“The salvage operation, which we will co-ordinate primarily with Challenge and Adventure, will help reduce waste taken to landfill, whilst providing us as an organisation with valuable resources that we can utilise to transform vulnerable people’s lives across the Isle of Wight”.
Further donations of tents, camping equipment, blankets, sleeping bags and cooking utensils to support the expanding work of The Salvation Army in supporting people experiencing homelessness on the Isle of Wight are welcome.
For further information on how to donate, contact Lucy Rhoden, Outreach Intervention Support Worker by emailing [email protected] or calling 01983 812743.
