We have helped to spread some Easter cheer around the community by handing out 200 chocolate eggs to five local food banks.
The gesture was as part of our ongoing support for families who are having a hard time of things in Eastwood, Kimberley, Stapleford, Selston and Heanor.
We run an office in each town and earlier this year we donated money to local food banks to help them to buy and supply food and household products to the increasing number of families who use our service throughout the year.
The money was the proceeds from our Christmas charity appeal and this week our funeral director Helen Ellis returned to each food bank laden with a bumper Easter delivery of chocolate eggs to give to the families the next time they turn up to collect their food.
The food banks in question were the Eastwood Food Bank, which serves families living in Eastwood and Kimberley, the Haven Food Bank in Stapleford, Brinsley Food Bank, the Selston Food Bank at the Tin Hat Centre, and Salcare, which serves the local community in Heanor.
Helen said: “We’ve supported the food banks for two years now at Christmas and we decided that it would be nice for the children of the families who go there to wake up on Easter Sunday to their own chocolate egg.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to give something back to the communities we work in like this and to make sure that no child goes without a chocolate egg at Easter just because their families are finding things a bit tight.”
Lizzie Nugent, deputy director of Salcare, in Ray Street, Heanor, said: “We’d usually look to spend some of our money on Easter eggs, but this donation has really helped us to make sure that our families are able to give their children a treat on Sunday, so we’re really grateful to Gillotts.”