Sale Sharks is linking up with The Multibank this Christmas to help tackle the rising issues of hygiene poverty amongst young people in the region.
The club will hold a collection at Saturday’s festive fixture against Exeter Chiefs where fans can donate essential hygiene products in support of The Brick Multibank, in Wigan, which currently serves 120,000 families across the North West.
Fans will be able to drop off sealed items including soap, shampoo, shower gel, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes in the South Stand community changing rooms ahead of the game, which kicks off at 5.30pm.
Gifted products will support the build of essential hygiene packs, to be distributed via The Brick Multibank’s place-based network of charities, social workers, health professionals, and teachers.
And volunteers will also be on hand on Saturday to take cash or card donations.
For 46% of households, washing detergent is considered a luxury item on the shopping list, rising in cost at a rate of 41.6% in just 3-years. 42% of households are without deodorant. 400,000 are without soap or toothpaste. And with school staff recognising the isolation, withdrawal and bullying that is developing as a result, they are spending approximately £40 million of their own money to support pupils, purchasing soap, toiletries, and detergent as a means to counter divisiveness in the classroom.
With 2-in-3 staff expecting the level of hygiene poverty to increase in their school in the coming year, and with key workers’ mental health affected as they attempt to navigate the daily complexities that hygiene poverty presents, The Multibank has designed it’s 2024 campaign to get soap, shampoo, shower gel, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes in the hands of our neediest, ensuring that our young people start the day the right way, free of fear, anxiety, and judgement.
At Christmas, that peace of mind, is the least a child deserves.
Partnering with The Brick Multibank enables Sharks fans to play an active role in getting essential hygiene items into the hands of those most in need this winter period.
Sale Sharks CEO Paul Smith said: “The Multibank campaign and the work done by the Brick Multibank is incredibly important and makes sure that young people in some of the most deprived parts of our region have access to products that many of us take for granted this Christmas.
“Every year at Christmas we ask our Sharks Family to pull together support our community and I have no doubt that they will step up again this year and give generously to ensure these young people reach their potential.
“The players and staff will all be bringing in products and we want our Sharks Family to support us too. Together we can make a real difference to the lives of so many people.”
The Brick Multibank CEO, Keely Dalfen, said: “We are grateful for Sale Sharks’ commitment to making a positive impact on lives of the most vulnerable across Greater Manchester, partnering with us to support our largest anti-poverty initiative to date; by ensuring that children across the region have access to the hygiene products they need to reengage back into the classroom, and maximise their potential.”
For those not in attendance on Saturday but are keen to support the activation, donations can be pledged at multibank.co.uk.
About The Multibank
The Multibank offers a new solution for business surplus. It connects business with social need to help reduce poverty, and meet sustainability targets, distributing essential, non-food items to meet the needs of our communities’ most vulnerable.
Business reroutes surplus product into a Multibank, which is operated by a lead charity. That lead charity builds out a place-based network of charities, social workers, health professionals and teachers, who act as conduits to get essential items into the hands of the most vulnerable in the community.
The Multibank operation services Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Greater London, West Midlands, Tees Valley, Swansea, and Scotland.
Business has the surplus, and The Multibank has the network who need it.
Find out more at www.multibank.co.uk
