Rettie & Co call off Christmas

Well the sending of Christmas cards anyway! As an alternative, they have decided to dedicate their Christmas card budget to help Fresh Start.

Rettie & Co have taken the view that charity starts at home, a place very close to their hearts. By asking all their clients and staff to donate such things as bedding, cutlery, plates, electrical goods, cleaning products, sheets, mugs – things that people usually hoard at home, until they move and instead of throwing them in the rubbish bin, they are being used for a worthy and relevant cause – the Fresh Start ‘Starter Packs’.

Keith Robertson, Managing Director of Fresh Start said "It is fantastic that Rettie & Co have taken this opportunity to support Fresh Start and demonstrate what Christmas is really about. We are delighted with the support that their staff and customers have shown. The goods that they donated are not luxuries but essentials for example bedding to stay warm at night or a kettle to make a hot drink. Without their support our clients would go without as they don’t have the budget to buy these goods that so many of us take for granted. Given the bad weather we have had our service is needed more than ever as people are spending all they have, just on staying warm."

Tony Perriam, Director at Rettie & Co said ‘Teaming up with Fresh Start was a great fit for our business. We have been able to spread the word via our staff and clients about their fantastic work, giving disadvantaged people across Lothian the new beginning that they need to get settled in their new homes. We have used our vehicle fleet to collect and deliver donations and hope that our efforts will help some people to be able to do simple tasks that we take for granted’.

A winters tale

We recently received a large donation of blankets that were six foot in length but only three foot wide, which meant that they were not suitable to go into the Bedding Packs we produce. At the same time the blankets were too good just to be passed on to the Rag Trade for recycling.

At Fresh Start we never like to see anything going to waste if it can be re-used. But the question remained ... What were we going to do with these blankets?

The problem was solved when we discovered that the Edinburgh Dog and Cat home was in urgent need of warm blankets this winter. The unusual width of the blankets meant that they were a perfect size for the animals that they rescue. The blankets were collected and taken to the Dog and Cat home just in time for the recent spell of cold weather.

For over ten years Fresh Start has been helping people whom have had to endure the problems of homelessness, but now we can say that we have also been able to help some animals whom have no home either.