Gordon Brown in charity effort to help support families through 'tough winter'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has told how a charity project he helped create which donates surplus items to those in need is seeking to expand to help more families who are facing "another tough winter".The Multibank, which was set up by online sales giant Amazon along with the former Labour leader, has already donated some 1.5 million essential items to more than 150,000 households in both Scotland and Greater Manchester.

Simon McMahon, of Amazon UK's Impact Team, said the initiative had "grown rapidly" and had already "far exceeded our expectations".In January 2022 the online retailer began working with a group of charities brought together by Mr Brown, donating items that had been returned to it to those living in poverty from a dedicated warehouse in Lochgelly in Fife.Working with the Cottage Family Centre in Kirkcaldy, the Multibank operates a "click and collect" service for more than 1,000 local charities and professionals - such as social workers, teachers and midwifes - to access goods from the warehouse to help those in need.Goods such as bedding, toilet roll, nappies, wipes and toiletries, as well as clothing, backpacks, home furnishings, lightings and electrical products have all been donated, or banked, at the warehouse - which was provided free of charge by Bob Purvis, chairman of The Purvis Group.This year the Multibank launched a second site in Greater Manchester, where it is working with The Brick charity in the Wigan and Leigh area.

Most of the items donated come from Amazon, but the project has also been supported with donations from companies including Morrisons, Tesco, SemiChem, Scotmid, PepsiCo, Unilever, Kraft Heinz and others.Mr Brown thanked bosses at Amazon for "their willingness to