Manchester-based community interest company The Hope Revolution has launched a new initiative to deliver ‘Hope Boxes’ to some of the most vulnerable and homeless people in the region.
The ‘Manchester Hope Box Appeal’ aims to bring a shining light of hope this winter.
As the brainchild of The Hope Revolution – formed in 2019 to help the growing numbers of homeless and disadvantaged people living on the streets of Greater Manchester – the ‘Manchester Hope Box Appeal’ is a winter initiative designed to provide support by delivering boxes of new and essential items to those who need it most.
And in the year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s a service more vital than ever before.
“Charity donations are at the heart of what we do,” explains John James, founder of The Hope Revolution, “Over the last 12 months, we have been working closely with many charities and organisations in Greater Manchester who do great work supporting vulnerable and homeless people.
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“We asked them what items they want to help and support the people in need this winter.”
Twelve Manchester charities are taking part in the appeal this year and have requested everything from pairs of socks, to lifesaving emergency survival bags.
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The charities set to be supported are – Audacious Foundation, Barnabus, Big Issue North, The Boaz Trust, Coffee4Craig, GTMHS, Lifeshare, Mustard Tree, Reach Out to the Community, Shelter, Supporting People in Need, and WHAG.
John continues: “The ‘Manchester Hope Box Appeal’ shop contains all the essential items that will make a difference [and] once purchased, the Hope Boxes are delivered straight to the charity for them to distribute directly to where the items are most needed.
“There’s no minimum number of items required to fill your Hope Box as every donation will make a real difference this winter.”
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And it couldn’t be easier to get involved either.
People wishing to lend a hand to the homeless and most vulnerable most across Greater Manchester this winter are asked to head on over to The Hope Revolution website shop, where boxes will be filled with items and then delivered straight to those in need.
100% of what someone pays for their Hope Box is spent on buying and delivering those exact items to the charities.
The Hope Revolution does not make any money from the sale of items.
The Hope Revolution prides itself on providing different ways of donating.
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Since launching just over a year ago, the charity is growing fast and now covers 11 cities to support over 50 charities across the UK in the following sectors:
Housing & Homelessness
Children & Family
Care & Aged
Animals
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Visit The Hope Revolution website here to get started on your ‘Hope Box’.
And make sure to follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up to date with all the hard work it’s carrying out to make it a Christmas to remember for so many.
News
A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date
Danny Jones
Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.
My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…
We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.
Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.
As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.
If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.
We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.
Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.
The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.
What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”
All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.
The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.
Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.
This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?
Emily Sergeant -
11th December 2020 
