“Christmas should not be a luxury”: The Hummingbird Project provides a lifeline at Christmas

The Glossop based organization founded by Jo Gregory has been taking in huge amounts of donations as the festive season gets underway.

The Hummingbird Project is one of those places that deserves more than just praise in writing – the group behind it has provided thousands upon thousands of people with clothing, homeware, toiletries and so much more for when they need it the most.

We met up with founder Jo Gregory to talk about The Hummingbird Project to find out what they are appealing for at Christmas, and to hear how the community clothing (and everything else you could need) bank has developed over the years.

“We started in COVID by supplying laptops and tablets to schools,” Jo said, “because there was a barrier to learning due to the technology gap. Then we were asked by schools to start providing shoes and clothing for the children and as we know during COVID a lot of people were maybe out of work and incomes were reduced so we saw a massive effect from that.”

The Hummingbird Project managed to help out a huge amount of people during its’ starting years, but this year has been a whole different story as Jo says. “Over the last 9 months we have seen a big increase in the number of people using us. I think the effects of COVID combined with the incredible costs of living is creating a perfect storm.”

UK consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), were 4.6% higher in October 2023 than a year before. In simpler terms, the cost of living has increased this year much more over last year, when the cost of living had reached new heights.

Jo commented further on the situation that has been happening this year. “We have a lot of families that come in here - low income, one income and even two income families now are coming here, we saw it in the summer when children needed school uniform and school uniform as well.”

Now in the winter period, things are not set to improve with the cost of living crisis. This something Jo and the team at The Hummingbird Project had a clear message to tell – “clothing, toys for children and gifts at Christmas for your children should not be considered a luxury, these are essential items and every single thing we have here is completely free to anybody. You do not need a referral but we work with referral agencies and schools in the area to reach out to families that may be struggling.” Jo said.

“We are seeing people choosing between food and electric bills at the minute - the idea that there are families and individuals out there that are stressed about just putting food on the plates and keeping the lights on at this time of the year means it’s going to be a really sad time of the year for a lot of people.”

The Hummingbird Project is going above and beyond to help as many people as possible during the festive period, and Jo told us of the many items that are available for people to come and collect free of charge. “We are able to help with maternity wear, baby equipment, baby wear, adult wear, childrens’ wear, interview wear and a Christmas section with trees, baubles decorations, and Christmas jumpers for the children.”

Amongst the masses of items available, Jo and the team are also appealing for Christmas items including gifts and toys to ensure everybody can celebrate the season.

Everyone is welcome no one is restricted “by postcode or paycheck”, as Jo said. Jo also told us “our motto is  ““give what you can take what you need.””

To donate to the cause or if you are struggling during the festive period, The Hummingbird Project is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday 10am until 2pm.