2023 heralds the 11th annual Glentoran FC Christmas Appeal for the homeless and families in need.
Each year our appeal has to meet greater and greater need within our community. Since Covid, many families are feeling the pinch and many have not recovered from that period for various reasons including loss of income, health issues & more recently the increase in the cost of living.
The cost-of-living crisis has affected each and every one of us and we do understand that some can’t donate as much as they had in previous years. But we are reaching out to those who can within, our Glentoran Family & Friends.
This year we are collecting non-perishable items for our Hamper Appeal. The hampers will be delivered to those Families and Pensioners who are in need. Donations and contributions can be made in a number of ways:
- Bucket Collection at every Home Game
- Collection Table for non-perishable Goods at each Home Game
- Leave into the Bet McLean Oval on Monday, Tuesday & Friday mornings.
- Donations of food items can also be left at Westbourne Glentoran Supporters Club Thursday to Sunday.
- Donate via PayPal: PayPal socialpartnership@glentoran.com REF: Xmas Appeal
- Donate via : Bank Transfer: Sort code 95-06-79 a/c 20124729 Ref: Xmas Appeal (Danske Bank)
- Sweetie Tube Challenge …. My Favourite lol. We give you a tube of sweets, You Eat the sweets and return the tube to us full of your loose change. (minimum amount £2)
Last year we managed a whopping 500 Hampers thanks to the generosity and good heart of all those who contributed. We cannot do this without you.
In all the 11 years we have been doing this appeal I get blown away each year at the generosity of our fans and friends. In all my years of attending the Oval I always knew no matter what we were collecting for, or when someone needed help, that Glentoran fans were always there to rise to the occasion. When starting this appeal, I hoped that had not changed. Boy did I quickly find out that it hadn’t. In fact, it was a thousand times better than I could have dreamt. Each year it just got bigger and better until Covid hit. Covid changed so many people’s lives and we truly got our eyes open to the extent as so many more people were reaching out to us. It was hard for us as volunteers to see with our own eyes the struggle that many were facing, but in a strange way it gives us strength. Our monthly meal drive list has virtually doubled in size. In 2023 the funds we collected over the Christmas Period and some truly kind donations early in 2023 gave us the freedom and finance to carry out our monthly meal drives right through until August/September.
To give you a rough idea of the costs to continue our work,
- Each hamper costs approx. £30 to fill.
- A hot meal for a family of 5 costs approx. £15.
- A full meal drive of 150 meals costs £350 to £400.
This year we have teamed up with:
- Teamdot Toy Appeal. Ashleigh and Shelly from Teamdot have been amazing, they are also collecting through Team Dot for Hamper Items, and they will be seen in our own Carpark rattling their buckets!
- Walkway Association – Hamper Appeal.
- Robyn’s Sweet Boutique (on Facebook) – Raising funds for our pensioners Christmas Dinners.
Please check out our Facebook Page Glentoran Homeless Christmas Appeal for all our upcoming events and competitions
Together we can make a difference!
Jodie Gatenby on behalf of the Glentoran Christmas Appeal team.
Meet our Team!!
Alicia Dickson, Jodie Gouin Robyn Gouin Ashleigh Blackburn Shelly Copeland Sarah Killops (not in photo: Clair Taggart, William Steenson & Jodie Gatenby)
