Charity co-founder Lewey Hellewell, 40, was inspired to set up Humans MCR after his own experience using foodbanks.
Foodbank volunteers were left unable to deliver supplies to vulnerable residents this morning when it was discovered that vandals had glued its locks shut.
Mobile foodbank charity Humans MCR was set up in 2019 to bring dignity to people who require help with supplying themselves and their families with food.
With a team of around 35 volunteers, packages are delivered directly to clients homes in Manchester, Salford and Bury – saving what can sometimes be a long journey to their nearest foodbank.
But operations temporarily ground to a halt when volunteers realised a glue like substance in the locks was stopping their entry to the building – for the second time in two months.
Could the wankers that have glued our locks for the second time please stop it!
It’s very expensive for us to fix and is money that should be spent on food.
If anyone wants to fit us a cctv camera we’d love you forever!
— HumansMCR #Foodbank #Manchester #Salford #Bury (@HumansMCR) January 28, 2021
The same thing happened in mid-December, costing the charity over £100 to fix.
Humans MCR founder Lewey Hellewell said: “I can’t, and don’t want to believe that this could be targeted.
“I have to believe it was someone who is bored out of their brain, trying to find entertainment, who doesn’t know our operation.”
Yorkshireman Lewey, 40, co-founded the Bury-based charity in 2019 after his own experience of using foodbanks when he struggled to find work.
He said: “I wanted to create an organisation that delivers food support with dignity and kindness.
“Using foodbanks can also have a huge impact on mental and physical health as well, so we want to do anything we can to ease the pressure.
“We don’t expect people to have to travel to get their food.”
After just a few hours, kind donors on social media have bought a CCTV camera, which the charity hopes will act as a deterrent to stop a similar thing happening again.
And the locksmith was able to quickly help volunteers to get access to the building, allowing volunteers to get on with their deliveries.
The charity is supported by around 35 volunteers who deliver food to vulnerable people in their cars.
Lewey, who has worked previously in different hospitality and retail jobs across Manchester, recalls walking miles to his nearest foodbank, only to get back to find out fragile items were crumpled at the bottom of the bag.
“A packet of crisps was sometimes your only treat,” he added.
In an ideal world, Lewey hopes that one day there will no longer be a need for the charity to exist.
However, figures released two days ago by the Office of National Statistics revealed that the UK unemployment rate is at its highest since 2016, meaning pressure on foodbanks is mounting with so many people out of work.
Those interested in becoming a volunteer or making a donation to the cause can contact Humans MCR on their website, or through the charity’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
A list of items which are welcomed by the charity.
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‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Sam Ormiston -
28th January 2021 
