A CARING Greenock family firm has teamed up with Tele to help feed struggling families.

Dallas Carpets director Billy McKechnie and his team are stepping up for a cause close to their hearts.

They are generously sponsoring our campaign to support the Inverclyde Foodbank, who fed almost 1,000 local children last year.

From their Roxburgh Street showroom the company are going to take in donations and ship them on.

Thanks to Dallas Carpets there will also be a bag slotted in to every copy of the Tele, so readers they can fill them up and hand them in.

Dallas Carpets owner Billy said: "We have been serving the community for nearly 30 years and we have generations of the same family coming in here.

"We know what a tough year it has been and we want to give back.

"We are hoping to get as many donations as we can in here.

"We are from the town, we live here and our customers are from here.

"We know that there are people who have been badly affected over the last 12 months or so in particular.

"It is so important to support a charity like the Inverclyde Foodbank."

As Dallas Carpets bounces back after lockdown Billy is keen to repay the community for the loyalty shown by customers.

He said: "We have been affected and it was a difficult year, having to close.

"But we have been very busy since we reopened.

"Our customers have shown huge loyalty to us and we want to show it to them as well by supporting this."

This is not the first time we have linked up with Dallas to show support for the community.

The carpet firm backed our Health Care Heroes awards too during the pandemic.

Billy's brother Jim, showroom manager, is also fully behind the campaign.

He added: "We are delighted to be involved in this initiative to support the foodbank."

Inverclyde Foodbank is run by the Hope Community Church's i58 project in partnership with the Trussell Trust, on a referral basis.

Since setting up in 2012 they have helped feed thousands of families.

The Inverclyde Foodbank collection bags will be in every copy of the Tele on August 4.

All readers have to do is fill them and deliver them to the charity's HQ direct or drop them in at the Greenock Telegraph public counter.

Inverclyde Foodbank, 64 West Blackhall Street, is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday from 1-4pm.

Our office at 2 Crawfurd Street is open from 9am to 5pm.

Helpful items to include are non-perishables such as cereal, tinned soup, pasta, rice, dried lentils, beans and pulses, tinned meat, tinned vegetables, tea/coffee, tinned fruit, biscuits and UHT milk

The foodbank also gratefully accepts household items like washing up liquid, baby items and feminine products.

Visit https://gofund.me/ce3b7c60 to donate to the campaign.