Offshore workers have been praised for their efforts to help those in need this festive period.
Aberdeen-based Repsol Sinopec has pledged £10,000 to foodbank charity Cfine, which supports communities across Grampian, the Highlands and islands.
Employees have also been encouraged to donate food, with collections building up in offices.
Cfine is one of five charities being supported by the North Sea oil and gas exploration and production company – along with Abernecessities, Aberdeen Cyrenians, Grampian’s Women’s Aid and Mental Health Aberdeen.
It comes as The Press and Journal, Evening Express, Energy Voice and Original 106 work to help people struggling for food this winter.
Our Big Christmas Food Appeal has already raised £3,000 for Cfine through the JustGiving page, with donations of food also flooding into the charity’s warehouse – as well as our drop-off points around Aberdeen and Inverness.
Over the last two years, Repsol Sinopec has donated £100,000 to good causes.
Charities with a ‘meaningful impact’
A spokeswoman said this year’s charities had been picked as they reflected the needs of the local community post-pandemic – but that they always select causes that have a “meaningful impact”.
She praised the response to the Cfine appeal, adding: “There were boxes in reception in the Aberdeen office where people could put in non-perishable food items and they could hand cash to myself or any number of people onshore and then offshore.
“People could give money to their OIM [offshore installation manager] and offshore – we thought the generosity was overwhelming.
“The money that we raised a good share of it came from the offshore population.”
Without foodbanks ‘children will be going hungry’
The spokeswoman said teams are always keen to back the effort – and that the need for foodbanks was in everyone’s mind.
“In many cases, they’ll be a lifeline for lots of people and without that, people will be going hungry or their children will be going hungry.
“Now more so than ever, the demand and the referrals that they have had has increased massively since the pandemic and then since then obviously we’ve had the energy bills and the cost of living crisis.
“Without them, there would be people really in dire straits.”
With bills rising and many still recovering from the financial impact of Covid, many people who never thought they would need a foodbank are reaching out for help.
One of the aims of the Big Christmas Food Appeal is to destigmatise food poverty, and let people know what help is out there – and who can get it.
Repsol Sinopec is also keen to get that message across.
The spokeswoman added: “Some may think that people who need to rely on foodbanks are not working, but actually there are a lot of people now in working poverty who are starting to rely on foodbanks.”
The Big Christmas Food Appeal makes it easy to support struggling communities this winter. Donations can be made via our JustGiving page, or by selecting items from our special Amazon wishlist pulled together by Cfine.
Alternatively, donations of food can be taken to one of our drop-off points.
These are at The Trinity Centre, Aberdeen; Marischal Square One and Two, Broad Street, Aberdeen; Moray Food Plus, High Street, Elgin; The Press and Journal, Stoneyfield Business Park, Inverness.
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