Through Celtic FC Foundation’s annual Christmas Appeal, we have been encouraging you to ‘Share the Spirit of Christmas’ this festive season, for those who need our support. Today, we continue our focus on the organisations who’ll benefit from the Appeal, as we turn our attention towards those providing assistance to individuals and families who have come to the UK to seek refuge. The winter period can be an extremely challenging time of year for those arriving in a new country and organisations such as Refuweegee, Scottish Refugee Council, Refugee Sanctuary Scotland and Safe in Scotland, play a hugely important role in ensuring that those seeking refuge feel welcome and supported, when arriving here in Scotland. Speaking of the importance of the support provided through the Foundation’s Christmas Appeal, Selena Hales of Refuweegee said: “Celtic FC Foundation and the Celtic fans have always been brilliant to us. Support from the Foundation and the fans who get behind them, has meant that we can rise to the challenge of Christmas. With your help, we have been able to increase the number of homeless kits we distribute, we’ve fed more people warm meals and we’ve gifted more presents, so that no-one feels left out. Keeping people warm and safe in the winter months means that we spend more on heating, food, snacks, tea and coffee but the Foundation has always been there, helping us meet these challenges. “When Celtic fans and the Foundation donate, we really feel it. Your support is incredible. It helps us meet our needs but it does something profound and amazing, as the people we support also understand that help is coming from their favourite club and they are thrilled. So many of them are huge Celtic fans and they are beside themselves when they hear that the Foundation supports us. Thank you so much.” Linda Chau of Refugee Sanctuary Scotland also expressed her gratitude for the assistance received, saying: “The support provided by the Foundation is immensely important for our service users. Thanks to the donations in the past, we have been able to provide assistance to so many families and individuals, by being able to offer supermarket vouchers enabling them to buy food and warmer clothing, suited for our cold winters. As the vouchers are given before Christmas, it allows families to buy toys for their children that they would not have been able to afford. One service user commented that he used the vouchers to buy extra food and cooked a meal for his neighbours to build a friendship and integrate with the community. The people we support are marginalised and often feel forgotten in our society, so it always means a lot to them when we provide them with some financial assistance, it brings them immense joy and hope.” Anika Joy of Safe in Scotland added: “Celtic FC Foundation’s ongoing support of our Safe in Scotland services is invaluable and really helps towards our efforts, as we aim to prevent migrant homelessness by supporting people in the coldest, darkest, loneliest months of the year. Your fans’ generous donations at Christmas allows us to increase the provision of emergency food and clothing support to people who are at urgent and high risk of rough sleeping and cannot currently access support from public services.” You can also
Trending Now
