Meet our Volunteer – Mendez Family’s Story
What inspired you to contact The Brick about volunteering opportunities?
We found out that The Brick supports the local community and we wanted to be part of that, to get involved in doing something important not only to benefit our life but also to help others who are also in need.
What’s your previous experience of volunteering?
It’s our first time volunteering, but we are very excited to help and offer our energy in something positive.
Are you employed – what as? Retired? Student – studying? In between Jobs? Unable to work?
We are actually Asylum Seekers and I myself am a student also.
What do you hope to get from volunteering at The Brick?
The satisfaction of growing as a human being and helping make a difference. We want to learn, share and dedicate our time to a good cause.
What area of The Brick would you like to volunteer in and why?
We are currently volunteering in the canteen at The Brick Project and we would always like to help out more when needed and invest more of our time.
The Brick Project offers a huge range of services to people who are homeless, in poverty or facing debt crisis. This includes Crisis Intervention, Hospital to Home, Asset Coaching and Wigan’s largest Foodbank. As its name suggests, it provides a safe, solid building block for people in crisis to begin rebuilding their lives.
The Brick Shop is a charity shop selling donated goods, often to people on low incomes. The shop gives clothes free of charge to people referred by Wigan Council. The shop is one of the main hubs within its community.
The Brick Works offers training to increase the employment opportunities for people who are unemployed for a variety of reasons. This may include homelessness or recently housed people referred.
The Brick Giving aims to put an end to poverty and homelessness in Wigan and Leigh. Our #BrickbyBrick campaign is working to raise £175,000 to purchase The Brick Works and make sure no one in our community is left behind.
The Brick Re-Use has been set up to help educate people in the Wigan Borough about recycling and re-use. We also turn unwanted goods into lovingly restored furniture for families in need.
