British Scouts Raise 500 Kg Of Food For Madrid Food Bank
2020 has been a difficult year for many with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic hitting many families in Spain hard.
Throughout Madrid the queues of people have continued to grow at food banks and soup kitchens.
As the ramp up to gift shopping began, what better way to celebrate the spirit of Christmas than with a Giving Advent Calendar, rather than a receiving one? Created by Melissa Pearce, Beaver Section leader at 1st Majalahonda, the Advent Calendar boxes listed food e.g. 1st December, flour, 2nd December, rice, to be gathered and daily put into a bag.
John Pearce, GSL 1st Majalahonda shared the idea with 1st Madrid and British Scouting Overseas Beavers, Cubs and Scouts scrambled to fill bags, adding much more than was on the list! Together they collected over 500 kilos of non-perishable food which was delivered to St George’s Anglican Church in Nu;ez de Balbao for Manos Ayuda Social.
The Spanish Charity Manos Ayuda Social has been working flat out to keep up with demand, providing soup kitchens, packs of food for people self-isolating and women’s shelters. British Scouting Overseas in Madrid are hoping to find further ways to help out in the new year.
