Meet Samantha Woods, our Christmas Hamper Coordinator

In this part of our newsletter, we speak to someone whose work makes a difference to our service and to the lives of those facing hunger and hardship. This month, we spoke to Samantha Woods, a long-time supporter of the Foodbank who recently joined our volunteering team as our Christmas Hamper Coordinator for this year’s Winter Appeal. Read on to learn more about Samantha, how she first got involved with our Foodbank, why she thinks the Winter Appeal is crucial, and what she likes to do when she’s not volunteering with us!

How did you start working with the Foodbank? 

I’ve donated to the Winter Appeal for a few years now. Initially, it was something my mum and I did together, but it quickly turned into something I also did with my work colleagues. I ended up organising the hamper collection at my workplace, and met a few of the Foodbank’s team dropping off the donations which gave me a chance to see the amazing and inspiring work they do first-hand. This year, my workplace wanted to volunteer to support the community, and the Foodbank was a natural choice for us. We signed up to take part in mail dropping in December, but I got back in touch to see if I could support longer term, and that’s when the Christmas Hamper Coordinator role came available!

In your role as Christmas Hamper Coordinator, what are your responsibilities?

Communication is at the foundation of my role. I talk to stakeholders from all sides of the campaign, so a lot of my time is spent understanding the logistics of the Foodbank and how we’re going to manage the hamper donation days. It isn’t as easy as opening up and welcoming all donations, we need to make sure that we have the capacity to check, process and bag all donations to ensure they’re suitable for the families and individual that need them. There’s a fair amount to consider and organise, but it’s a great campaign that I am proud to be a part of.

Why do you think the Winter Appeal is so important?

It's vital that every neighbour in our community has the resources to survive. I grew up in a low income household – we didn’t have a lot, but we did have food security. People experiencing hardship aren’t asking for anything extraordinary or special, they’re asking for the necessities to live. Campaigns like the Winter Appeal supports those asks, and helps our community to receive the support they need and deserve during the coldest months.

How can somebody reading support the Winter Appeal?

There are various ways to support the Winter Appeal this year. Whether you want to donate yourself or volunteer to help us pack and sort donations, there’s something for everyone. If you would like to get involved you can sign up via our website, or get in touch via email at hampers@ccfb.org.uk. There’s plenty to do in such a short space of time, so the more support we receive the merrier!

What do you like to do when you’re not volunteering at the Foodbank? 

At the moment, I’m training for the London Marathon, which takes up most of my time. I’m running on behalf of Mind, the mental health charity, and have received quite a few donations already which is keeping me going because the training is not easy! Outside of that, I’m also a registrar, so I spend a lot of my free time at the weekends marrying people which is lovely. A recent highlight of the job was officiating a wedding between a Mr and Mrs Christmas, which definitely got me in the festive spirit for this year!