Two years on, the Midland Langar Seva Society, which is supported by HomeServe’s van and volunteers, has delivered more than 17,000 hot meals and 17,000 goodie bags to those in need of help
An inspirational charitable partnership which is helping to feed, clothe and support homeless and vulnerable people in towns and cities across the West Midlands is going from strength to strength two years on.
The unique partnership between Walsall-based home assistance provider HomeServe and the Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS) has celebrated its second anniversary. Since the relationship began, hundreds of HomeServe People, all volunteers, have joined the Midland Langar Seva Society teams to help provide the service to thousands of homeless people and others who have needed short-term support to help feed their families.
During the past two years, HomeServe People have helped provide more than 17,000 hot meals, prepared more than 17,000 goody bags which are given out at the open kitchens and have helped purchase more than 16,000 samosas for evening feeds.
Collectively, HomeServe People have volunteered more than 1,000 hours to help serve the food and last year, HomeServe donated one of its famous red vans to help volunteers transport essential food and clothing to feeds across the region.
This week alone, a team from HomeServe supported people with 400 cups of tea and a further 400 meals.
The unique partnership was sparked off thanks to a chance conversation between HomeServe call centre worker Bhupinder “Pops” Heer and Chief Marketing Officer Greg Reed two years ago. And the rest is history.
The MLSS helps “all and everyone” in need of food across Walsall, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Leicester and Pops admitted that he couldn’t believe what has been achieved in the two years since the chance partnership began.
“I’ve been blown away by the way everyone at HomeServe has got behind MLSS and it makes me incredibly proud to have them by our side”, said Pops. “Since we got the team and volunteers on board, I’ve been inundated with offers of support not only here in Walsall but from our other offices across the country as well as our engineers in the field all over the country. Together, we’re making a difference to so many people’s lives and it’s humbling to know that our company and People are so supportive and generous.”
To celebrate the second anniversary, the team had a small slice of birthday cake, before packing again for another series of feeds, this time in Birmingham and Walsall.
Greg Reed, Chief Marketing Officer of HomeServe, said: “People like Pops are an inspiration to us all. Their passion, belief and drive is something to admire and we’re lucky to have many People just like Pops working for us up and down the country. Having been out with the MLSS volunteers on numerous occasions it really makes you appreciate how the smallest of gestures can make such a massive difference to people’s lives.
“Two years has gone by so quickly, but we remain as passionate and committed as ever to our local communities. It really is incredible to be part of an organisation where there is a real drive to help others and it is a real credit to the culture we have all created here.”
The MLSS team, which operates feeds in wider networks right across the West Midlands and beyond, delivers around 10,000 feeds every week, or around 40,000 every month.
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