New charity launched to help people in poverty

The Brett Foundation has been launched to provide essentials for people who can't afford them. It has been launched by Sue Brett, the driving force behind the town's Open Kitchen charity.

A charity to help people in poverty get back on their feet and support themselves has been officially launched.

Registered under the same charity number as the Open Kitchen, the Brett Foundation provides housing essentials and appliances like cookers and fridges for people who can’t afford them, as well as 'baby packs' for new mothers.

Founder Sue Brett also finds accommodation for people who are homeless and offers advice on careers, CVs and budgeting.

Sue said: "We support anyone who is referred to us in the best way we can so they can become self-sufficient.

"Sometimes if you are at rock bottom you can’t see anyway out and you lose confidence and the ability to see clearly, so we advise them about what to do."

Sue approaches charities, such as the Spoore Merry and Rixman Foundation or the Louis Baylis (Maidenhead Advertiser) Charitable Trust, which then fund certain items to help those in need.

The new foundation has already undertaken its first project and a team of 11 volunteers gathered on Thursday, April 24, to clear a garden belonging to a woman who lives in a Housing Solutions property.

Sue has asked for people to donate plants, bark and woodchip to help replant the garden.

She said: "It’s really fantastic to be able to make someone’s life a bit better."

Despite having worked to provide home essentials for people in poverty since she started the food bank more than two years ago, the Brett Foundation has been set up to prevent the increasing confusion with Foodshare, another branch of Open Kitchen.

The foundation already has an expansion project in the pipeline, including a community cafe, which hopes to give the new charity a physical presence in the town.

People would pay for food and drink via a credit system, and the cafe will also have a ‘quiet area’ where unemployed people, youth offenders or those who have been excluded from school can learn new skills or seek advice.

The Brett Foundation website will be set up in the next few days.