SWINDON STORE HELPS THE HOMELESS TAKE A CONFIDENT STEP FORWARD

Blaylocks, the shoe store much loved by generations of Swindonian’s has linked up with Threshold Housing Link, Swindon’s longest established homeless charity to provide an ingenious scheme designed to help ease the essential needs of the town’s growing homeless population. Mark Blaylock store owner explains, “Here at Blaylock’s we decided we wanted to give something back to the community. We are a long-established business in the heart of Old Town and have been going for ninety-nine years so will hit the big 100 years in 2020.

Mark continued, “We wanted to help the people in Swindon and particularly at this time of the year where it is getting a lot colder you tend to think about the homeless, that is why I decided to collect old but wearable shoes/boots that people store in a cupboard or under the bed thinking they will wear them again someday but never do. We have had an amazing response to this and have received over 125 pairs of men’s and lady’s footwear that I have cleaned up with some polish and replaced the laces if they needed new ones. I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to bring some footwear into the shop and donate for this very worthy cause”.

Threshold’s Chief Development Officer Michael Keenan is delighted with the arrangement, saying, “this is exactly the kind of practical assistance which will help the homeless on Swindon streets and we thank Mark and everyone at Blaylocks along with their generous customers for providing this wonderful donation of pre-loved footwear. From the moment we started unboxing the shoes they were walking out the door with happy service users”.

Blaylocks are situated at 1 – 3 Bath Road, Swindon, SN1 4AS (tel: 01793 534271) and all donations will be gratefully received.

Threshold is a locally based independent charity dedicated to helping those on the streets and those suffering social exclusion as a consequence. Their Head Office is on the 2nd Floor, 1 John Street, SN1 1RT and can be contacted on 01793 524661 or 07896 833070 (mobile). www.thl.org.uk is Threshold’s website. Registered Charity no. 1017599.