On Thursday 6th March the Queen Mary Centre in Wisbech was transformed into a prestigious fashion show venue complete with catwalk. Ticket holders and invited guests enjoyed complimentary drinks and canapes when they arrived. This was followed by a speech by CEO Keith Smith about Ferry Project and its work with those experiencing homelessness in our community,  as Ferry Project marked the end of their year of  celebrating to mark the charity’s 25th Anniversary. Then LEADA drama group, led by Linda Ekins, performed a short drama that told the story of a homeless person finding the help and support they needed from Ferry Project, which enabled them to move from homelessness to independent living.

After this, the fashion show began. With 20 models from the local community taking part, each model had selected items of donated clothing from Wisbech Donations Hub to include as part of their outfits. Each model took to the catwalk wearing three different outfits and wowed the 160 strong audience with their glamour, style and confidence.

The Wisbech Donations Hub is based at the Queen Mary Centre and operates in a similar way to the Foodbank, where individuals can be referred to the service. The Donations Hub provides household items for people in need who are unable to afford the essentials required to set up a home such as pots and pans, pillows, blankets, beds, cookers, lamps, towels, toiletries, clothing and even food. Donations of items in a good condition can be brought to the Queen Mary Centre on week days during working hours.

A total of £2,500 was raised from the event with money raised going towards helping the homeless in the Fenland area through the work of the Ferry Project by being split between the Donations Hub and the Hardship Fund that can be directly accessed by homeless clients for things such as training, transport or medical prescriptions.

Keith Smith says “What a wonderful evening Thursday was. It was a pleasure to work with all the volunteers and sponsored models to raise funds to help homeless people and to highlight the Donations Hub. I am grateful to everyone who gave their time and money to make the evening such a success.

The Donations Hub helps homeless people as they set up their new home, supplying them with household goods, furniture and clothes for free. The Hub is entering a new era with a new partnership with the Kings Church who will be taking over the management of the Hub and looking to expand its work.”