Salvation Army thanks volunteers for spreading Christmas cheer

Salvation Army leaders in Guildford have hailed volunteers from National Highways who gave up their time to help pack food parcels for families and individuals in need this Christmas.

For the third year in a row, volunteers from the government-owned company which operates and maintains motorways and major A roads in England, went to the church on Woodbridge Road to help pack more than a thousand food parcels which will be given out to people who would otherwise struggle to put food on the table over the festive period.

The volunteers were led by National Highways’ Tom Harding, Programme Support Manager for Major Projects Southeast, who reached out to The Salvation Army after helping the church and charity at his previous employer. 

He said: “Since we’ve come along to help, I think The Salvation Army has been able to scale up their operations with the number of bags they can pack and the number of people they can help. As a company, we’re not just here to build roads. We like to help in our local area and this really speaks to that. 

“This is somewhere where we can contribute and see a real visible impact. We all enjoy coming down and it’s a good team building exercise as well. We’re grateful to help out and would like to continue to do so.”

Major Julia Adcock leads The Salvation Army in Guildford with her husband Captain Wayne Adcock and hailed the efforts of Tom and his team.

She said: “It makes such a huge difference because we couldn’t do what we do here if it wasn’t for the volunteers, not only from National Highwaysut also all the volunteers from the local community who help us all year round. It’s a really nice atmosphere to be in – we just find that people want to help to make somebody’s life a little bit happier. Christmas can be an extra pressure on top of existing problems families or individuals face and I am just blown away by the generosity, enthusiasm and compassion of all our volunteers.”

Julia said she also wanted to thank businesses, schools, community groups and individuals for their donations to this year’s Christmas present appeal. 

She said: “It’s heartwarming to see the community come together to bring hope to others.”

The church on Woodbridge Road will be collecting donations of new unwrapped toys, non-perishable food items and toiletries until 20th December. The gifts will be distributed to parents who would otherwise not be able to afford gifts for their children this Christmas in time for Christmas Day. People can drop their contribution at the Church or Salvation Army Donation Centre on Woodbridge Road or make a donation by clicking here