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The Booth Centre, a Manchester charity that helps the city’s homeless population, has put together a list of much-needed items it hopes the public can donate.

The centre relies on cash donations to provide support to the city’s rough sleepers, who number between 200 and 300 every year, but the wish list is for additional goods that would enable the charity to increase access to some of its most important services.

Amanda Croome, coordinator for the Booth Centre, said: “We urgently need to replace the ancient computer – our clients use it to look for work and there is a queue every day to use it. We also teach older homeless clients in their 50s and 60s to use the internet so they are not excluded from society. We would really appreciate donations of laptops as it would give us more flexibility in offering internet access. ”

Croome added that homeless clients could make use of unwanted digital cameras in the centre’s programme of art activities as well as take portraits they could use to add to CVs when job-hunting.

The wish list also includes urgent basics such as fresh milk and fruit as the centres provides meals for up to 120 homeless people every week.

Croome said: “As well as the items like toothpaste, we would also be grateful for donations of things like socks.”

The centre, which is based at Manchester Cathedral and has been running for more than 15 years, provides drop-in services and activities for homeless people, who can get help with finding somewhere to live, registering with a doctor or support for addictions and mental ill-health. The Booth also offers programmes to help their clients find a job or simply participate in creative activities such as art classes or cookery that would otherwise be unreachable.

Apart from grants that cover the salary costs of the charity’s workers, the Booth is entirely dependent on cash donations from the public to cover the running costs of its services. The charity not only helps the homeless to get into hostels and then into more permanent housing, but it also follows up clients by supporting them through the process of re-entering employment and returning to independence.

Croomes said all donations of items on the wish list would be very gratefully received.

If you can help, please call the Booth Centre on 0161 835 2499 or email admin@boothcentre.org.uk to arrange to drop off your donation.