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Sunderland Community of Hope project celebrates two-year anniversary

Kimberley Lo and Derek Bagnall at Shop4All, Sunderland

Shop4All, the community store that opened in April 2021 as part of the ‘Hope4All’ initiative, has recently celebrated its two-year anniversary.

Aimed at eradicating food poverty, deprivation and isolation in Pennywell, Sunderland, the Hope4All project opened Shop4All to provide a safe space for members to shop for a wide variety of goods at a heavily discounted price.

The shop houses donations from FareShare, M&S and Sainsbury’s, as well as clothing, furniture and household items donated by the community.

They also host a weekly FISCUS Advisor and work alongside NHS Social Prescribing, to provide the tools to allow residents to once again become financially independent – while gaining further advice and support through the church.

Kimberley Lo, Community Lead for Hope4All, said: “The last two years have been incredible for Shop4All, thanks to our amazing team of volunteers and the support of the community. It’s become so much more than a shop!

“One of the most amazing things about Shop4All is the fact that the clients have been so happy and proud to not only have choice but the ability to purchase food for themselves and their families, knowing that they have bought the food themselves.

“I see God at work every day – Shop4All has done so much for our community. People love to chat with the volunteers who run the shop. The shop has given people the opportunity to realised their own potential and gain much needed experience, friendship and social interaction.”

Shop4All has recently reached 350 members, meaning 350 families in Pennywell have access to household necessities.

Derek Bagnall, Community Advocate at Shop4All, said: “It has been a joy to see Shop4All grow over these past few years and how it has helped the people of Pennywell to access every day groceries at less than supermarket prices.”

Shop4All also runs a children’s playgroup called ‘MuckyPups’, for ages up to preschool. This has given parents the opportunity to shop for household goods at discounted prices while their children get to socialise and learn together! You can listen to feedback from visitors in a special video produced by the H4A Studio Team below.

Last year, when the team at Shop4All celebrated their one-year anniversary, they released a video, also produced by the H4A Studio Team. The video is available below.

To learn more about the Hope4All project, please click here.

First published on: 5th May 2023
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