What started as a simple urge to help a man in need on a cold December night has snowballed and could soon lead to the creation of a nationwide charity, according to the Ewell man behind a project that helps homeless people.
After DJ’ing in Pacha nightclub in Victoria last December, Anthony Burdett, 30, got talking to a homeless man, and after only being able to offer him the change in his pocket, he left wanting to do more.
The Big Warm Up project is launching a Homeless Shoebox Appeal this Christmas
So he set up the Big Warm Up page on Facebook and was quickly swamped with messages from like-minded people wanting to help.
The page now has more than 3,000 likes.
Mr Burdett, a team leader of maintenance at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, now uses his home in Hogsmill Way, West Ewell to stockpile donations before handing them out to people in need.
The group initially distributed hats, socks, sanitary towels and other essentials to homeless people in Victoria, the West End, Vauxhall, Leicester Square, Regent Street, and Oxford Street once a month.
But with more donations, more volunteers, and harsher weather, the group now goes on their mission once a week.
Anthony Burdett out donating goods to homeless people in London
Mr Burdett believes the project can grow even more, and is setting his sights on helping homeless people across the country.
He said: "We’ve had more interest in it than I thought - it has snowballed.
"We are planning to get a big truck and then start up a soup kitchen and incorporate that with what we do already - like a one-stop shop.
"We are also in the stages of getting it to be a registered charity early next year."
Anthony Burdett out in London with a volunteer from the Big Warm Up project
The Big Warm Up Project has proved so popular that Mr Burdett has had to buy two sheds in order to find space for all the donations he receives and believes with the project’s popularity he can expand it and help more people across the country.
He said: "We have had more interest in it than I thought or intended.
"I’m definitely looking to build it, expand it and grow it."
Donated items filling out one of Anthony Burdett’s two sheds
For more information, search ‘The Big Warm Up Helping the homeless stay warm on the streets’ on Facebook.
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