Help Bristol's Homeless will receive a donation of £62,900 from Leeds Building Society as part of its increased investment in community and charity partnerships. The building society, which has a branch on Wine Street, selected five charities to receive a share of £250,000 following nominations by colleagues. Help Bristol's Homeless was put forward by James Chutter, Mark Collar and John Hoole from Leeds Building Society who are based in Bristol, and who have volunteered for the charity for the last few years.

Help Bristol's Homeless takes an innovative approach to homelessness by converting shipping containers into fully functioning micro flats. The site in Spring Street near the centre of Bristol now holds 22 flats, a kitchen diner, an office, shower block, a support room and a laundry. After overcoming many challenges to get the charity to this point, Help Bristol's Homeless is now facing the cost-of-living crisis with a large rise in their electricity bill. The team at the charity worked with James to pitch for funds to purchase and install solar panels to provide electricity to the site, reducing both their carbon emissions and their energy bills.

Head of Strategy and Responsible Business, Vanessa Roberts, said:

"As a mortgage lender and a mutual everything we do is centred around helping people to have a place they call home and that's why it's vital we support charities like Help Bristol's Homeless with the brilliant work they do.

"We are thrilled to be able to support Help Bristol's Homeless in such an innovative way, and hope that our donation goes some way to help the charity further support the local community not only this winter but for many years to come. The solar panels will last for 25 years and over that period they will save an estimated 105 tonnes of carbon and save the charity around £130,000. We're delighted our funding will have such a significant impact on both people and planet."

Jasper Thompson, CEO of Help Bristol's Homeless, said:

"This generous funding and support from Leeds Building Society will have huge impact on our charity, and allow us to invest in solar panels. This new heating solution for our units at Spring Street will help reduce our carbon footprint, save on our monthly outgoings and allow us to invest that money on further projects for the charity. Together we can make a difference to the homeless in Bristol."

The other charities who received a share of the £250,000 funding were the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust; social inequality charity Zest; Smart Works Leeds who support unemployed women; and Ripple which is an online browser extension tool that provides a pop-up message of hope and a signposting service to crisis support when anyone carries out an online search related to self-harm.