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Newbury News Ltd. Print-Digital-Social
Newbury News Ltd. Print-Digital-Social
Thu, 14 Jun 2018
dan.cooper@newburynews.co.uk
TWO women were seen approaching shoppers in Northbrook Street on Thursday claiming to be collecting cash for the homeless.
However, when challenged by the Newbury Weekly News, the woman and her female colleague conceded it was "not a charity" and instead was a "social enterprise".
When asked how the operation worked, the woman claimed that they went along to different locations in the south west to collect money for the homeless, adding that this was then fed back to those who needed it in the community.
They handed out leaflets, emblazoned with the words 'helping steps for homeless', which boast of being able to get rough sleepers into a bed for the night.
The leaflets, for which there is a suggested £2 donation, do not include a website or contact name and only include a mobile number.
A spokeswoman for Newbury BID, senior street ranger Samantha Bates, said: "People need to be aware of what charities or social enterprises they hand over their hard-earned money to."
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Westberkswalker
15/06/2018 - 10:10
Just before Christmas there was someone collecting for the homeless outside Tesco Metro in Northbrook Street. Many people were making donations. I asked the person which organisation they were representing as it didn't appear to be any of the local organisations, West Berkshire Homeless or Loose Ends for instance. I was shown a leaflet containing an address in the Midlands. I was unable to find information about that organisation on the internet and so I called West Berkshire Council. They were unaware of this collector and confirmed that no collection licences had been issued for that day. Please don't stop donating to charities but, when tossing cash into a bucket in town, please be sure that you are donating to a genuine, licensed street collector.
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Tommy
15/06/2018 - 09:09
I saw these two & thought they were more akin to lucky heather sellers. Amazing how some people just give their money away to anyone, unfortunately they seemed to be targeting the more elderly !!
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