Caredig Provide Funding for New ‘Multibank’ Cwtch Mawr

Caredig provide funding for new ‘multibank’ which support families experiencing poverty across Swansea

Caredig are proud to provide funding and be part of the Faith in Families new Cwtch Mawr project, establishing the first Wales’s multibank.

Our vision is ‘Together we proudly create great places to live and work’ and this project mirrors us perfectly.

The multibank initiative was originally co-founded by Gordon Brown and Amazon, with Cwtch Mawr’ being an expansion of this.

Cwtch Mawr translated, means ‘Big Hug’ and a multibank is a clothes bank, bedding bank, baby bank, hygiene bank and furniture bank all rolled into one. The idea is that companies have the surplus goods people need and local charities know the people who need them; The Multibank initiative connects the two to reduce the effects of both poverty and environmental waste.

With funding from Caredig, Swansea Council, The Moondance Foundations, Amazon, Welsh Government, Swansea Bay University Health Board, Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SwanseaCVS) and other local housing association, the charity Faith in Families who are leading Cwtch Mawr, estimates the project will help over 40,000 local families in need.

The driving force of the local project has come from Cherrie Bija, CEO of Faith in Families, who said: “When people come together to support each other we all will have a better life. Cwtch Mawr is a collaboration of different sectors wanting to bring hope and support to those who face some of the most challenging situations in life, right here in our communities. This big Welsh Hug can be transformational for Swansea and South Wales. From gifting children with brand-new football boots so that they can take part in their school team, to maternity packs for new Mums so they can have dignity going into hospital, these things really matter. People are barely surviving right now, children are normalising discomfort and hunger, individuals are facing hopeless situations. Cwtch Mawr will make a difference in people’s lives and for the planet, a real anti-poverty, anti-pollution, engagement solution.”