Over the festive period, Wimbledon colleagues were given the opportunity to collaborate with the Wimbledon Foundation’s homelessness charity partner, Crisis, to make a difference for those facing homelessness at Christmas. Across two days in December, seven staff members offered their time to assist the team at Crisis with a range of tasks; whether that be setting up one of Crisis’ four day centres, carrying out welfare checks, delivering meals or unloading stock from lorries.
Rachel Flaxman, one of the staff volunteers, said she was in “awe” of the work and generosity people showed at one of Crisis’ stations.
“The Crisis station offers everything from hot showers and a Christmas lunch to karaoke and cinema screenings. I was stationed on clothing which was one of a number of services including haircuts, manicures and eye tests all offered by professionals who had volunteered time.
A definite highlight was finding a coat in the right size for a gentleman who didn’t have one, and I enjoyed chatting with people listening to stories as we found them what they needed.”
Since the Wimbledon Foundation’s partnership began with Crisis in 2020, more than 200 people have been supported into safe and secure housing.
The Foundation is currently funding six key roles in Crisis’ Housing First team which supports Crisis members into safe accommodation as quickly as possible. In 2022, the partnership enabled 51 people to sustain housing for six or more months and facilitated further support for 90 people on their journey out of homelessness.
Rachel said that she is already considering signing up next year for more volunteering days and would “absolutely recommend” the experience to anyone.
