Dukinfield couple’s great EndResult with award

A DUKINFIELD couple’s tireless service to help others has earned them an award from their MP.

Stephen and Sue Muir are the people behind the EndResult Community Group, which has been pivotal in making sure the most vulnerable members of society are cared for.

They collect clothes, shoes, sleeping bags and essentials for the homeless, which they pass on to the outreach groups like Don’t Walk Past.

They also collect food and clothes to help struggling families and work with people and organisations including Pauline Town at Ashton’s Station pub, four women and children’s hostels, The Anthony Seddon Fund, The Together Centre, Barty’s Foodbank, social workers and health workers.

Stephen and Sue also support the charity Walking with the Wounded, a charity which helps get those who served, and their families, whether mentally, socially or physically wounded, back on their feet and making a positive contribution.

Even Dukinfield’s ambulance station receives their help as they donate what they collect from a branch of bakers Greggs to them.

Their work was recognised with a Citizen’s Award from Andrew Gwynne MP, which was presented at Dukinfield’s Together Centre.

“It started by working with Sandwich Angels,” said Stephen about beginning to work with the homeless on Saturdays and Sundays from 8pm until 2am and saw them run Dukinfield Pantry.

“Then we started doing a Tuesday and a Thursday, then lockdown happened and we came to run a food bank.

“Now we run a children’s clothes bank, as well as offering help for people who need things like home appliances.

“Everything we get donated to us we pass on to other groups. All this is run from our home, we have a storage unit as well.

“We help out so many groups every week. Whatever anybody needs, we get hold if it and pass it put straight away.

“We had a call from a social worker telling us about someone who needed a cot, within 30 minutes we’d got one.”

Sue added: “A lady called Sandra Nottingham runs a clothes bank for kids. She spends all her time collecting and washing items and people come to the storage unit to collect them.

“And we get great donations from the likes of a catalogue company and Marks and Spencer.”

Stephen and Sue’s services would have been invaluable a year ago. Now as the cost of living crisis bites they have noticed an increased demand.

They also revealed just why they do so much for others as they received their recognition.

Sue added: “We have a lot of people who are working that need the food bank or clothes from the clothes bank.

“That started by accident really as a lady asked us if we could help her with clothes as we helped other groups and we just said, ‘Yes.’

“Other people also asked us about things, so we just started running the clothes bank so others could just get what they needed.

“I’d say on average we help a minimum of 20 people a week with the clothes. We’re now getting prams and cots.

“The biggest help we have really is our Facebook page as people can say, ‘Has anyone got a cot?’ or ‘We’re donating a cot of anyone needs one.’

“That’s really taken off, it’s massive. Every day someone is offering something, that’s become a really big thing.

“We’re really shocked at how high demand is and it’s only going up.

“We don’t really have a minute in the day to ourselves but it doesn’t feel anything like a full-time job to us.

“It feels good to be able to help. I’ve been in that situation – I’ve been in a hostel with three children, I know what it feels like to arrive with  nothing.

“Helping anyone that’s struggling is now my main passion. I just like to help.”