A Pembrokeshire charity that aims to relieve the effects of poverty has won the Community and Voluntary Group Award at the Communities 2.0 Celebration of Achievement Awards 2015.

PATCH (Pembrokeshire Action To Combat Hardship) aims to relieve the effects of poverty for individuals and families within Pembrokeshire.

It gives food parcels, clothing, and other items to people in financial difficulty as well as providing toys to children at Christmas to help their parents avoid getting into debt.

The charity has a team of up to 60 volunteers and runs depots in Milford Haven and Monkton.

PATCH has now won an award for the way in which it has used knowledge gained from Welsh Government project Communities 2.0 to improve its online marketing, and volunteers’ computer skills.

The charity has developed an effective social media presence, using Facebook to make urgent requests for food donations, meaning their updates are seen by at least 2,000 people.

And staff and volunteers now have the skills to maintain and improve the charity’s website themselves, without hiring expensive contractors.

Tracy Olin, charity co-ordinator, said: “None of this would have happened without Communities 2.0.

“They helped us to set up a website and deliver digital inclusion work with our tutor, David Lamb.

“I attended a workshop on social media at a funding fair which was my lightbulb moment for using Facebook to raise awareness of PATCH.

“As an example, this week a referral agent was in urgent need of a single bed.

“Within an hour we had been offered three! It shows the power of social media.”

Dennis O’Connor, PATCH chairman, added: “Utilising social media in this way enables us to run the charity in a business like fashion.

“Using IT skills in this way brings the community closer to the charity so they can see how their money is being spent”.

The Communities 2.0 Celebration of Achievement Awards acknowledge and celebrate individuals, organisations and partnerships that have made the best of the opportunity to work with Communities 2.0 and help create a more digital Wales.

The Awards ceremony was hosted by Maggie Philbin and Lesley Griffiths AM, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, presented the awards to the winners.