Release date: October 17, 2021
The Maggie Js Baby Store in Milnrow is a local drop-off point for important Hopefull Handbags items
A local business woman became the senior Northwest coordinator for an international charity, coinciding with the anniversary celebration of her business.
Julie Deane, owner of Maggie J’s Baby Store in Milnrow, began volunteering with Hopefull Handbags – a charity that “gives hope to handbags for hand luggage survivors” – in August.
The global charity, originally founded in America, supplies once loved or new handbags filled with essentials such as soap, toothpaste, hairbrushes, women’s products and other necessities to sheltered domestic violence survivors, social services and survivors who turn to Hopefull handbags .
There are currently seven Hopefull Handbags subsidiaries on five continents including Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, South Africa, the US and, more recently, England and Wales – and local Julie Deane took the chance to volunteer in the Northwest.
“Since I’ve been overwhelmed with the support over the past year, I want to give something back to the community and I love the ethics and ideas of Hopefull Handbags,” she said.
“This is a new UK charity but was started by Cathlene Miner in America. After seeing how her grandmother lived and dealt with domestic violence on a daily basis, she knew from a young age that something had to change.
“Domestic abuse occurs everywhere, at all economic levels, and takes many forms. In fact, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, in the year ending March 2020, an estimated 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 experienced domestic violence in the last year in England and Wales. “
Hopefull Handbags’ mission is to raise awareness of domestic violence and provide hope, help and support to survivors. It serves as a bridge organization for survivors who are restructuring their lives in a safe, productive, and positive direction.
The charity has partnered with Maggie J’s to provide a local donation drop-off point so that people in the community who want to donate their handbags or other items can easily do so.
As a volunteer, Julie Deane inspects each bag for defects before she cleans the handbags, fills them with essentials and marks each bag so the shelter staff know the bag is safe. Then they are delivered to local centers where they are needed so that all bags stay in the community.
Julie continued, “In addition to the typical essentials, the handbags contain inspirational notes from other women and a journal with instructions on how to keep a journal to improve self-awareness. Receiving the Hopefull handbags with all these important things in it shows the survivors that the community cares for them and gives the hope they need to look forward to a limitless future.
“We are working with Refuge UK to find locally funded accommodation and I am also looking for volunteers to help pack the bags for distribution and other drop-off points across the North West.”
If you would like to donate to Hopefull Handbags or would like to volunteer, please visit:
Maggie J’s Baby Store
3 Brückenstrasse
Milnrow
Rochdale
OL16 3ND
Speaking of the stores’ one year anniversary, Julie said, “It’s been a crazy year, but it was the right decision. I loved every minute helping growing families find the right purchase for them, be it a travel system, furniture, or car seats. Every day was an absolute pleasure. “
