8.45am on Friday 13 December 2024 and four of Neilsons staff are wrapped up warm to spend a morning at Edinburgh’s Waverley Train Station doing our bit for a good cause.
Taking a few hours out from their usual roles in Property Sales and Conveyancing, Maureen, Samantha, Jade and Kirsten donned festive gear as well as their big coats to spread Christmas cheer among commuters and raise money for a cause close to Neilsons’ heart – the Edinburgh Food Project.
Neilsons is a local business, based in Corstorphine but covering all of Edinburgh and the Lothians with our work. As a major employer and market leader, it is our duty and privilege to contribute to our local community and partnering with the Edinburgh Food Project is just one way in which we do that.
The Edinburgh Food Project was established in 2012 and aims to “fight food poverty”. It runs seven Trussell-Trust associated Food Banks across Edinburgh. They provide emergency food packages with the aim that no-one should go hungry and everyone should have access to “three square meals a day”. The Project also provides service users with basic hygiene products where needed and provide support and advice with issues relating to housing, employment and money.
Neilsons are proud have been associated with the Edinburgh Food Project for many years now. We have collection points for dropping off donations of food and toiletries in our offices. We have also helped in the Edinburgh Food Project’s warehouses making up food parcels and this year we were again collecting money from commuters at Waverley Train Station.
And so, on a busy Friday in December, our four volunteers met Calypso, a staff member at the Edinburgh Food Project at Waverley Train Station. We had a mini training session first where we were reminded of the charity’s ethos and aims. We were also given guidance on how to go about collecting money in our buckets and take card payments using a QR code.
The four of us Neilsons staff (already in aforementioned big coats and festive headpieces) then donned “Edinburgh Food Project” tabards, grabbed our collecting buckets and QR code readers, spread out around the Station and waited for the commuters to pass by! Meantime, Calypso staffed a stall under the big Christmas tree on the main concourse and we were able to direct to her several parties who were interested in knowing more about the charity.
With a little charm, cheer and good humour and having had some lovely chats with the ever-generous commuters and members of the public at Waverley Train Station, in just three hours, we managed to raise £331.39 for the Edinburgh Food Project! We were blown away by people’s generosity – this really was a situation in which lots of people giving even a few coins really added up. The sum raised will go a long way to providing much-needed supplies for the Edinburgh Food Project.
Very well done, everyone! And we look forward to continuing to assist the Edinburgh Food Project in 2025!
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