The Cwtch Mawr Multibank charity initiative, which launched in 2024 and has donated more than 640,000 surplus essential goods to 146,000 people in poverty, has officially opened the doors of its newly-expanded premises in Swansea Vale.
Cwtch Mawr will now process donations from its newly expanded 15,000 sq. ft warehouse in Llansamlet, Swansea. The new Cwtch Mawr facility will significantly increase the Multibank’s capacity and allow for wider community reach, contributing to more than 8 million goods which have already been delivered to help over 600,000 families from Multibanks in Scotland, Greater Manchester, London, Wales, Birmingham and Tees Valley. This year the Multibank will send 1 million orders to families across the UK.
The Cwtch Mawr Multibank is led by Swansea charity Faith in Families with support from Amazon, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Welsh Government, and Swansea Council. The expansion of the collaborative project marks a major step forward in the fight against poverty in South Wales.
Cwtch Mawr Multibank’s new premises will boost the Faith in Families’ ambition to share one million new, unused household products by the end of 2025 with homes experiencing poverty across Carmarthenshire and the M4 belt.
Amazon helped set up the Cwtch Mawr Multibank warehouse operations, providing logistical expertise and tech support. Five employees from the nearby Amazon Swansea fulfilment centre worked on-site at the Multibank for the first full year of operation. As part of its support of the Cwtch Mawr Multibank, Amazon has transported over 570,000 essential items in 90 trucks and vans. Five Amazon trucks transported more than 35,000 essential items as part of the Multibank’s new warehouse opening.
The expansion of the collaborative Multibank project, described by Mr Brown as a “coalition of compassion” reflects the growing number of supplying business partners to the Multibank and a step forward in efforts to combat the detrimental effects of household poverty in South Wales.
Since the opening of the first Multibank in Mr Brown’s home county of Fife, Scotland three years ago, the Multibank charity, supported by Amazon, has opened six sites across the three nations and distributed 8 million separate products, via its hyper local charity partner networks – which include teachers, doctors, midwives, family support workers and micro-community charities – to 600,000 households experiencing poverty.
The Wales’ Multibank, Cwtch Mawr was also established with logistical, tech and warehouse support from Amazon UK and warehouse operations, providing logistical expertise and tech support. Five employees from the nearby Amazon Swansea fulfilment centre worked on-site at the Multibank for the first full year of operation.
A range of organisations have provided funding to pay for rent and utilities, and to support the recruitment, salaries and training of additional staff, including Swansea Council, Pobl Housing Association, and The Moondance Foundation.
A growing number of businesses are joining the Multibank network and donating goods to redistribute or logistical expertise to ensure products can be delivered. Newport based Sofitel now supports with toilet paper products, Palletline is supporting with delivery and warehouse storage and Mercedes has gifted first generation electric vans to sustainably support “last mile” deliveries. Colgate Palmolive, Tommy Tippee, Pura nappies are now also backers of the Swansea Multibank.
Cwtch Mawr, Cherrie Bija, CEO of Faith in Families, said:
“Families are facing pressures every day. Rising costs, limited support, and hard choices no one should have to make. We built Cwtch Mawr because the need was clear, and now we’ve expanded it because the demand continues to grow. This new space means we can do more: more stock, more reach, more impact. We’re also in active talks with Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire councils to explore how this model could benefit more communities across South Wales. From the start, Gordon Brown and Amazon backed this idea, not with just words, but with real commitment. It’s taken a wide network of support to make this happen; and we’re just getting started.”
John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon, said:
“It’s incredible to see the positive impact that Cwtch Mawr is having on communities in South Wales. The new facility in Swansea demonstrates what’s possible when businesses and community organisations unite with a clear mission. My thanks go to our partners, including Faith in Families and my incredible Amazon colleagues, for their continued work in supporting the Multibank.”
The Rt Hon Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister and co-founder of the Multibank charity network said:
“It’s been just over 12 months since the opening of the Cwtch Mawr Multibank and now we’re expanding to a brand-new warehouse three times the size – from 5,000 to 15,000 feet. To be able to scale up and bring yet more support to more households across South Wales after just one year is a great achievement by all those who have come together in Wales. Together we are meeting unmet needs by using underused resources and we are giving so many people new hope and our coalition of compassion have made all the difference to thousands of lives.”
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, who attended the opening alongside the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford, said:
“Cwtch Mawr is a powerful example of what we can achieve when we work together with compassion and a shared commitment to help those in need. I’m proud to back its expansion, so it can continue changing more lives for the better. While we celebrate this success, we must also acknowledge the growing demand it meets, and the urgent need to tackle poverty at its roots. That’s why we will have invested nearly £7 bn between 2022 and 2026 to reduce costs and maximise incomes for Welsh families. Our child poverty strategy sets out how we’ll use all of our powers to meet our ambitious goals and support those who need it most.”
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