The Centre for Reconciliation in Lincoln has set up a new hygiene bank on Skellingthorpe Road.
Packs will be given out at Holy Cross Church between 10am and 12 noon on Fridays.
The Hygiene Bank is looking for donations of new and unopened soap and deodorant, period products, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Any personal hygiene and household cleaning products are accepted, aimed at all ages and genders.
Melissa Wheeler, Community Engagement Officer at The Centre for Reconciliation, runs the Lincoln Hygiene Bank and said: “It shouldn’t be a luxury to be able to keep yourself clean. The Hygiene Bank is here to help anyone who is struggling with the cost of personal hygiene.
“Personal hygiene products can sometimes be quite expensive and it can be quite embarrassing for a child to go to school if they’ve not been able to take a bath, or if somebody needs to go to their job. It can be quite isolating, so we are here to help those people who can’t quite afford it, because we are still in a cost-of-living crisis.”
The packs put together for The Hygiene Bank will contain soap and deodorant at a minimum, and will hopefully last for at least one month.
Melissa noted an increase of people at the Lincoln Central Mosque hygiene bank during the cost-of-living crisis, and expressed gratefulness for their continued funding.
“We have recently had funding from Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Champions Programme,” she said. “We’ve found out this week that we’ve been awarded just over a thousand pounds.
Other funders for The Centre of Reconciliation include the Charity of John Dawber and the National Lottery.
Mayor Biff Bean, who attended the opening of the new location on Friday, September 22, said: “The opening of this new hygiene bank is brilliant. When you’ve got a cost-of-living crisis, this is going to be very important for residents in the community.
“It enables them to get products that could usually be out of their price range. When you haven’t got enough money to cover all the bills, essential things can fall by the wayside to save money, and these are essentials.”
Councillor Calum Watt of Boultham Ward said: “Things like sanitary products are critically important as well, and actually very expensive if you’re buying them commercially, so we’re really glad that it’s being opened in this part of the city.”
Reverend Steve Holt of the Holy Cross Church was also eager to get his parish more involved in the local area.
“This parish is one of the largest in Lincoln, so it covers a big residential area, and we believe that part of our job is to reach out to the community. It’s not just about what happens on Sunday, it’s about what happens the rest of the week. We want to support the community in any way we can, and we thought this was a great opportunity,” he said.
“All of the stuff you can see here today has been donated by my parishioners.”
Anyone can make donations at yellow tubs throughout the city, in shops such as The Craftea Café, Boots, or the Lincoln Unitarian Chapel.
Other Hygiene Bank locations in Lincoln include the Victory Centre on Dixon Way, the Lincoln Central Mosque on Dixon Street, and the Unitarian Chapel in the High Street. Packs can also be collected from the University of Lincoln Chaplaincy and Student Union.
All donation points can be found on The Centre for Reconciliation’s social media.