Our core values

The German sociologist and philosopher George Simmel wrote "discretion is nothing other than the sense of justice with respect to the sphere of the intimate contents of life." If there is one core value that we cherish above all else, it is discretion. The protection of the dignity of our service users, especially in a small territory like Gibraltar is the touchstone of our work. We work hard to be discrete.

discretion is nothing other than the sense of justice with respect to the sphere of the intimate contents of life - George Simmel

We have a few guiding principles to help with this.

An invisible service

Firstly, all of our deliveries are in standard bags–for–life. We do not display any "Open Hands" merch or logos and our delivery volunteers do not carry any items of clothing that might identify them with the charity. As deliveries often happen in plain sight of the service user's neighbours, we simply hand over the food parcel with a "your shopping is here" and a smile.

A tight circle

Secondly, only a very small handful of volunteers deliver food parcels to service users. This is not only because we are very careful who we send into service users' homes but also because we are very keen to keep this service within a very tight circle to preserve the necessary confidentiality.

A select few deliver

Thirdly, and importantly, no teenagers or young people are involved in deliveries. This protocol is in place to ensure that we are sensitive to any young people that might result with the service user.

In a small place like Gibraltar we strive to provide an invisible service.