Fill a bag with love to help vulnerable women at Christmas

AFTER seeing a post on a Thame community facebook page for a project to help vulnerable women at Christmas, a Thame based virtual assistant was inspired to set something similar up in Thame.

known as LOVE IN A BAG, the project aims to help women who are homeless, escaping domestic abuse or similarly vulnerable this Christmas. Sarah Schofield explained: “The idea of the project is to choose a handbag you no longer use, fill it with items that would make a woman feel special this Christmas, pop in a thoughtful note or Christmas card and show her someone cares.

Sarah Schofield

“The idea is based on an Australian scheme called ‘It’s in the Bag’, run by the charity Share the Dignity. In late September 2018, a lady in Bedford, Mel, became aware of  ‘It’s in the Bag’ and wanted to do something similar, so set up a Facebook page called Love in a Bag Bedford.

“I thought it was such a great idea that on October 3, I shared the post with the community facebook group, Love Thame, to see if it could be done locally – hence the creation of the Love in a Bag Thame Facebook page. The response has been extremely positive; less than a week after issuing the first post, four charities in Oxford, Aylesbury and High Wycombe have agreed to distribute bags to their clients; drop-off points have been set up in Thame and Chinnor; some of the large Thame companies are promoting the project among their staff and are collecting bags in-house and Bucks College Group are sharing the project with all of their staff and students, and are collecting bags at each of their three campuses.”

Sarah explained that handbags can be packed full of useful things and little luxuries. All items included in your bag MUST BE NEW and in sealed packaging for health and hygiene reasons. Essentials include: shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shower gel, sanitary towels, tampons, toiletries.

Extras could be face wipes, tissues, perfume, dry shampoo, hair bands, hairbrush, comb, book, socks, underwear, stationary, towel, scarf, moisturiser, vouchers or may be hand cream.

There are currently three drop-off points for bags in the Thame are:

Racquets Fitness Centre, North Street, Thame, OX9 3TH
Sanderum Centre, 30A Upper High Street, Thame
Sanderum Centre, Oakley Road, Chinnor

As the project is so new, and being run by one person – Sarah – she could do with some help in a few areas:

* Collection point for bags in Thame, Haddenham, Chinnor, Long Crendon, Stokenchurch and anywhere else in the area

* Storage for the bags before they are checked and distributed

* Contacts within businesses in the local area, including the large ones like CPM and Travelodge, and the many smaller companies in the towns and business
parks, eg Long Crendon and Haddenham, who would be happy to lead the initiative within their company

* Transport to take bags from collection points to the storage facility; and to distribute them to charities

For more information and details of what to avoid putting in bags, deadlines etc, Sarah Schofield can be contacted via Facebook – loveinabagthame or by email: sarah@schofieldva.co.uk