Photo: Maria Lin Kim on Unsplash
Making A Difference To Maidstone
A Christian charity helping people in crisis in Maidstone with food, furniture and practical support, funded by its High Street charity shop.
Partner charity: signed an agreement with Voucher Magpie
About Making A Difference To Maidstone
Making A Difference To Maidstone (MADM) is a Christian charity that supports individuals and families in Maidstone going through a crisis, such as homelessness, domestic abuse, addiction, money worries, unemployment or a relationship breaking down. It offers practical and emotional support, points people to other services and gives them chances to volunteer. Its outreach work is paid for mainly by its charity shop, along with donations and grants.
It started in a bicycle shed storing clothes for the Maidstone Churches' Winter Shelter, and grew through garages, market stalls and pop-up shops to a permanent shop and office on Church Street. It became a charitable company in 2015 and a registered charity in 2016. During the 2020 lockdowns it turned its Church Street shop into an outreach centre with Maidstone Borough Council's Covid-19 Mutual Aid, and in November 2021 it moved its shop into the former Argos building at 28 High Street.
Its Outreach Centre is open five days a week for people referred by organisations such as Social Services, the NHS, Kent Police and the council, helping with food, furniture, clothes and household items as well as mentoring and advocacy. The King's Pantry food bank works from each person's own shopping list and collects surplus food from local supermarkets. The Charity Commission register lists 6 trustees and 38 volunteers.
Every time a supporter shops online through Voucher Magpie with Making A Difference To Maidstone chosen, we donate 50% of the commission the shop pays us to Making A Difference To Maidstone, at no extra cost to the shopper.
What they do
- Outreach Centre on Church Street, open five days a week for people referred by local services
- The King's Pantry food bank, with food, toiletries and cleaning products chosen from each person's shopping list
- Furniture, beds and household items for people setting up or rebuilding a home
- Support for people affected by domestic abuse, including a safe place to talk and advocacy
- Lovingly Restored, a furniture restoration project saving items from the Tovil household waste centre
- A charity superstore at 28 High Street selling donated furniture, clothes and school uniform
Information from Making A Difference To Maidstone and the Charity Commission register: www.madm.org.uk, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
How your shopping helps
Pick Making A Difference To Maidstone and shop as normal using codes and deals on Voucher Magpie. When a store pays us commission for your order, we donate 50% of it to Making A Difference To Maidstone. You pay the same price and still get the discount.
We pay each cause its confirmed commission every quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct), once the shop has confirmed the sale, usually 30 to 90 days after the order.
Get the fundraising pack: your link and QR code, an A4 poster to print, and messages ready to send to supporters.