Every Saturday lunchtime, 24-year-old Ella Durant carries a clothes rail to Piccadilly Gardens.
She fills it up with winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves and any other protective clothing that could make a difference to someone living on the streets.
The rail is joined by a sign which reads: ‘If you are cold? Take one. If you would like to help? Leave one.’
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The rail is the newest part of the country-wide ‘Take One Leave One’ initiative where individuals set up clothing rails and encourage people to donate winter clothing for those in need.
Ella set up the rail in January after seeing its success while she was at university in Leeds.
Since moving to Manchester, she decided to help her community however she could and setting up a rail was an obvious choice to her.
She said: “I basically set up a take one, leave one rail in Manchester, there’s never been one in Manchester before.
“It started in London and now it’s all over the country.
“I saw they started a rail in Leeds last year and I thought, wow that’s really nice, such a good thing to do.
“I wanted to help the community, I just wanted to help people in the small way that I can.”
Since starting the rail two weeks ago, Ella has already given out nearly 20 coats to people in need and even more other accessories including gloves and hats.
She is still after more donations and can be found in Piccadilly Gardens every Saturday between 12pm and 3pm.
However, if you have items that you could donate but cannot make it, Ella encourages people to contact her either on Instagram or via her email: tolomanchester@gmail.com
Currently, Take one Leave One is looking for donations of men’s winter clothes, including coats, hats, scarves, waterproof trousers and even blankets or sleeping bags.
Ella is also excited to welcome new volunteers to help with the rail, or to help with collection or storage of donations.
She said: “I’d absolutely love to have volunteers, currently it’s just me trying to rope my friends in, so if people wanted to volunteer their time and help that would be amazing.
“There’s really not that much of a time commitment, it’s just three hours on a Saturday. Hopefully that would be something people can spare.
“If people want to get involved in anyway they can, even if they can’t volunteer, could help collect donations, or promote it in their community groups. Any help I would really appreciate it.”
Ella is also on the lookout for a business that could help her store donations as the charity continues to grow.
She explained how she is hoping the Take One Leave One initiative will grow in the city as part of the community and how the rail is for anyone in need.
“It’s a community thing, it’s cold, there’s a lot of homeless people in Manchester. While it’s for anyone in need, it’s mainly aimed at homeless people. It’s no questions asked, so anyone can take stuff.
“So that could be like a single mother who can’t afford a coat for her daughter, it doesn’t just have to be homeless people.
“I’m just trying to help out the community in a very small way.
“So this is for the community, it’s a goodwill initiative, trying to help the people of Manchester in a small way that I can.”
Currently, the rail is short of men’s winter clothes and Ella is keen for more donations as she has noticed more of a need for men’s clothing.
“Most of the donations we have had so far have been women’s stuff, but most of the people who have been coming to the rail have been men.
“So we really need men’s clothes, mainly men’s winter gear.
“We don’t take any old stuff, we’re mostly looking for coats and then hats, gloves, scarves. It’s got to be quite practical, useful, coats and stuff."
To get involved with Take One Leave One, or to arrange a donation, you can contact Ella either on Instagram or via her email: tolomanchester@gmail.com
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