My name is Stephen Palmer, and along with my partner Sapphire Poles we have worked 16+ hour days, 7 days a week for the past 8 weeks to provide assistance to over 4500+ elderly, vulnerable and NHS workers within the South Birmingham and Solihull area.

It all started on 15th March 2020 a week before lockdown started. We went to the wholesalers to buy some sweets for an upcoming craft market (for my gift business) and whilst we were there we noticed they had alot of essentials in stock. I remember seeing on facebook that there were alot of elderly and vulnerable who are struggling to get these due to people stock piling so I downed the sweets and spent approx. £300 on 3 products... toilet roll, kitchen roll and washing up liquid. I then went onto facebook, set up a group and advertised these items at cost price, with free delivery to the elderly and vulnerable initially covering Hall Green.

We completely sold out within 24 hours and retuned to the wholesalers to do the same again, and we continued to do it for the next 48 hours until we expanded our help to the majority of South Birmingham and Solihull.

We have reached far and wide with our mission. We have been featured on the tv, in the newspaper, online, on the radio and all over facebook. We receive orders from across the world from people who have family within our area.

Since we started we have:

-Increased from 3 items to 85+

-Increased from a stock total of 20 to 1500+

-Built a massive level and trust and a huge relationship with the whole community.

- Built a website whereby customers can order, this not only takes a load off of us, but also manages the stock for us as we are receiving 50-60 orders a day. www.essentials-delivery.co.uk

-Received 60+ 5 star Trust Pilot reviews

- Been borrowed a van to do deliveries in, thank you Arbury

- Provided storage space in Dickens Heath to allow us to expand our operations

- Dropped 25,000 leaflets across the areas we cover

-Worked alongside other charities and official bodies to ensure we are covering everyone who needs assistance

-Provided over 200+ free food parcels to our customer and official refferals.

AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE!

We are looking to register as a charity to continue our work, even when this pandemic has calmed down there will still be a call for our type of help. We have witnessed hundreds of vulnerable and elderly people who get little to no help at all, and they trust us to provide the service they need. We have been informed time after time that we have saved a life with both the essentials and food parcels, we are sometimes the only people that our customers see, so it lifts their spirits a little to be able to have a quick chat and see a friendly helpful face.

It isnt just about providing essentials, it is also making sure we keep mental health under control and keeping the community spirit high at all times.

When COVID-19 is over, we need to be able to run a van, pay for storage space, aswell as any other costs we may incur.

We need your help. We are not the only ones in this mission, we couldnt do it without the help of every single one of you. Wether you have donated money, or a tin of beans, every single donation helps and brings a smile to someones face.

You never know, your help may save a life!