Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, will this week (Friday 21 December) be launching Co-op’s Cambridge Street Aid giving point terminals ahead of Christmas to help the Homeless this winter. The launch will be taking place at the Co-op store on Mill Road at 11:00am, which will be one of several locations the terminals will be operating. The Co-op will be the first retailer in the city to support the Cambridge Street Aid giving terminals.

Daniel Zeichner MP said: “I am delighted to be launching the Cambridge Street Aid giving terminals at the Co-op. As the first retailer in Cambridge to install these points, I would like to say congratulations to Co-op for their commitment to this very important issue of street homelessness, which impacts us all. I hope that we see many more businesses follow where they are leading in the coming weeks and months.”

“Cambridge Street Aid is just one of the many great organisations operating in the city tasked at helping the homeless. What makes Cambridge Street Aid unique is that it is working with all agencies to provide long term support to help ensure that people stay off the streets. Cambridge is a generous city but residents here also want to make sure that the money they give is going to good use and helping people to get off the streets. These terminals will help Cambridge Street Aid provide real, life-changing support for those that are homeless and I am very pleased to give my support.”

Sited in the windows of Co-op food stores in North Street, Burwell; 177 Mill Road, Cambridge and, 1 Milton Road (Mitcham’s Corner) – the retailer has funded the installation of three of the new terminals which means that members of the community passing the stores can quickly and easily donate money to Cambridge Street Aid and help to make a difference by using contactless debit or credit cards, or smartphones – 24 hours a day.

Street Aid’s aim is to help people to get off, and stay off, the streets. It is supported by all the major agencies in Cambridge helping people on the street. All of the money donated goes to the cause.

Terry Eastcott, Co-op Store Manager in Cambridge who has helped to organise the partnership with Street Aid, said: “The weather presents many challenges for the homeless, in all seasons, but especially during the extreme weather of these colder, winter, months. Those sleeping rough – for whatever reason – face many challenges and need access to vital support and services. Connecting communities and bringing people together is at the heart of the Co-op, and our work with Cambridge Street Aid can make a difference to those in our community who are desperately in need of support. It is incredible what we can achieve when we work together and every donation will add up to make a big difference. Helping to let vulnerable people know that they are not alone, and that someone is thinking of them, this Christmas time.”

Michael O’Toole, Chief Executive, Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, said: “Street Aid has huge advantages for anyone wanting to help the homeless. You know your donation will be used as part of a structured approach to help people change their way of life. Your donations is pooled into bigger grants for organisations in Cambridge who assess the individual’s circumstances and work with them to find the best way to get off, and stay off, the streets.”

The Bishop of Ely, The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, said: “Street Aid invites us to make a choice: ‘loose change or real change’. I am so glad that these new contactless giving points are going to be launched in Cambridge before Christmas. We can give money that can change individual lives for good in a responsible way. Christians follow Jesus who was born into tough physical circumstances, but grew and flourished in a real home at Nazareth. Please help get people into a home they can cherish, with friends they can trust and with hope for the future.”