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Donations flood in for north homeless appeal

Margaret McEwan (left) and her friend Mairi MacGillivray, both of Ballachulish, with some of the blankets they have collected.
Margaret McEwan (left) and her friend Mairi MacGillivray, both of Ballachulish, with some of the blankets they have collected.

A group of Lochaber women are collecting warm clothing and blankets for homeless people across Scotland.

And they have been amazed by the generosity of local people, who have handed over bags full of coats, jackets, jumpers, hats, scarves and gloves in response to their appeal.

Margaret McEwan, 48, of Ballachulish, explained that she discovered that the Yes Connect Scottish community network was running an appeal in other areas, but there was no one doing it in her home area.

So she enlisted the help of some friends, including her neighbour Sandie Michie, who ran a highly successful appeal for toys for children whose parents could not afford to buy them Christmas presents.

They then posted a request for donations on a local group on a social networking website and have been inundated with offers of warm garments.

Ms McEwan said: “I’ve been through hard times myself so I understand what homeless people are going through and I just want to do something for them.

“We’ve had a fantastic response. We only put out the appeal on Saturday and people are being very generous.

“We’ve spent the past couple of days travelling around collecting bags full of clothes and blankets.

“All the donations will then be handed over to Yes Connect as they have people out on the streets, who can give them straight to the homeless people who need them.”

She added that they were keen to receive any items that would help to keep homeless people warm, including blankets and sleeping bags.

However, she pointed out that they should not be too bulky as the people receiving them needed to be able to carry them around.

Mrs Michie, also 48, said she had been delighted with the response to her Christmas toys appeal and was happy to get involved in this one.

She said: “We collected almost 150 toys that were given out by Highland Council’s social work department and Lochaber Food Bank.

“There are so many people living on the streets now. It’s just terrible.

“I was asked to get involved with this appeal and am happy to do anything I can to help.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation should contact Ms McEwan on 07926 166698.