THE first multibank in Wales donated nearly half a million essential items in its first year of operation to families in poverty.
Cwtch Mawr Multibank, based in Swansea, is operated by charity Faith in Families. It is one of six multibanks across the Ƶ. The initiative was set up by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the National Family Centre alongside e-commerce giant Amazon, which not only makes product donations, but provides logistics and staffing support.
Cwtch Mawr is also supported by a wide coalition of partners, including the Welsh Government, Swansea Council, Beacon Cymru, Moondance Foundation, Pobl, Caredig, FSG, Veeqo, Comic Relief, Ineos, Sofidel, Pura, Leekes, Our Place, Swansea Bay University Health Board. For each £1 invested by the charity it generates a social value of £5.90p.
It distributes brand-new donated essentials, including clothing, bedding, toiletries, school uniforms, baby goods and cleaning products.
In its first year, April 2024 to March this year, Cwtch Mawrt distributed 471,622 essential items, provided by 116 partner organisations, which created £27.7m in social value for families in need. To service growing demand in Swansea a larger warehouse was opened in June.
Cherrie Bija, chief executive of Faith in Families, said: “Cwtch Mawr proves what’s possible when businesses, government and communities pull together. We’ve shown that surplus goods can change lives – children going to school with confidence, families able to redirect their money to heating and food, people treated with dignity when times are tough.
"With nearly £28m in social value created in just one year, the impact far outweighs the investment. Thanks to our partners and funders, Swansea is leading the way in tackling poverty with innovation – and we’re only just getting started.”
Former First Minister and current Finance Secretary, Mark Drakeford, said: “Cwtch Mawr is that rare thing in social policy – a service in which everyone is a winner. It has outperformed original expectations right across the range of relevant indicators. Poverty can erupt suddenly into the lives of people who never expected to be in that position – through illness, losing a job or the breakup of a relationship.
“For others poverty is an insidious process, built up over a long time of having to manage without enough to meet life’s needed. Cwtch Mawr can, and does, help in either circumstance, blending practical action with a never-absent respect for human dignity. As a member of the Welsh Government I am very pleased that we have been a supporter, from the earliest stages. Now on to even greater success in the future.”
