South Yorkshire construction firm, Henry Boot Construction, has donated £1,000 to help care leavers in Barnsley celebrate this Christmas.
The donation was made to dedicated volunteers who help organise The Christmas Dinner – an annual project now in its fifth year in Barnsley.
The Christmas Dinner is a national idea founded in 2013 by the poet Lemn Sissay MBE and now runs across the UK. It is not a charity, or a social enterprise, and each dinner event is an independent project.
The Barnsley Dinner is organised by a local steering group of volunteers, who come together to ensure no care leaver aged 18 to 25 is left alone on Christmas Day. The volunteers arrange a venue, presents, a chef, food, transport, volunteers and often so much more.
After restrictions caused by the pandemic in the past two years, volunteers are looking forward to delivering a face-to-face event in Barnsley and creating memories that will last a lifetime.
Beth Goodliffe, chair and lead for The Christmas Dinner Project Barnsley, said: “Our team is determined that no young person in Barnsley – unless out of choice – will ever spend Christmas alone. Being without family is hard enough but to be a young person alone on Christmas day is something that no one should have to experience. Our project strives to ensure this doesn’t happen and that young people experience an amazing Christmas day.”
Tony Shaw of Henry Boot Construction added: “This is an incredible grassroots community project. The volunteers make an enormous difference to the lives of young care leavers, and it is an absolute privilege to be able to support them.”
The Christmas Dinner Project Barnsley is also seeking additional volunteers to help at its present ‘Wrapathon’ on 17, 18 and 19 December. If you’d like to get involved and help young people have a fantastic Christmas then email tcdbarnsley@gmail.com for more information.
Volunteers have also set up a crowd-funding page to raise funds for the event. Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-christmas-dinner-barnsley to donate.
Henry Boot Construction has been involved in Barnsley’s Christmas Dinner project since 2018 – with the company leading on the transformational Glass Works development in Barnsley town centre at the time.
Last month, the firm also raised £1,500 by taking part in the tenth annual Sleep Out for Roundabout in Sheffield. Going back to basics in Meadowhall Car Park, the team braved the cold to raise vital funds for the youth homelessness charity.
