A BUSINESS owner has been praised by a homeless charity for coming to the rescue when its van broke down.
When Liaqat Ali, the owner of Practical Van Hire in Worcester, heard that the homeless charity Let’s Make A Change had a problem collecting donations for their new charity shop, he stepped in immediately.
The Make a Change van had broken down so Mr Ali gave the charity use of his van to collect donations free of charge. “We were really in a crisis,” said Chris Lee, director of the charity.
“People had been very generous donating items for our new shop and we were just about to set off to collect them and the gearbox failed on our van.
"We phoned around various garages trying to find a replacement. Hearing our news Mr Ali rushed to get a van ready for us and then insisted we had it for nothing.”
Mr Ali said: “It’s always a pleasure to give back to the community. “We are always happy to help the homeless in any way we can.”
Mr Lee added: “The day was a great success. Let’s Make A Change managed to collect at least £500 worth of really top quality items to sell which will help support the homeless and vulnerable in Worcester.
“We can’t thank Practical Van Hire enough, their generosity really has helped us a tremendous amount.”
Let’s Make a Change was set up by Mr Lee who was himself homeless.
The charity aims to empower the homeless community by giving them employment within the organisation.
Mr Lee is now opening a shop.
He said: “To help us with fundraising we are opening a charity shop called ‘All Change!’ in Malvern Link and all the items we collect will be sold for the benefit of the vulnerable, disadvantaged and homeless or redistributed to those in need.
“If you have got any items you no longer need please give us a call on 07932980397 we are collecting stock now.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel