This pop-up is hosting Christmas dinner for care leavers
It’s tough for any child in care.
But Christmas can be that much harder for care leavers who’ve recently left the system and can find themselves isolated.
Now, The Christmas Dinner pop-up aims to provide a Christmas Day dinner for care leavers aged 16 to 25 on Christmas Day.
Given that many care leavers are away from family, are sofa surfing or on the streets on their own at Christmas, it can often be a dreaded day.
However, the project says it won’t be any longer: ‘We will put on a scrumptious Christmas meal and create a magical day to remember.’
The organisation is the brainchild of Lemn Sissay who started the initiative among artists, chefs and social workers to give proper Christmas dinners to people outside of care.
It’s the fourth year the Christmas Dinner has run and caters for guests who would otherwise be alone.
The poet and broadcaster was inspired after The Tope Project, which held a Christmas dinner for care-leavers in London after Topé, a care leaver, took his own life after facing isolation once he left care.
Lemn told Metro.co.uk: ‘I remember Christmas Day being really difficult in the years after leaving care.
‘It’s one of those days which resonate for many people who’ve lived in care.
‘It doesn’t get talked about – not even institutionally within the care system.
‘When I saw what Topé had done, I wanted it to be all over the country.’
More: Family
For anyone who can’t volunteer on Christmas Eve or Day can buy an affordable gift here.
This year, 2017 volunteer teams will host guests in Manchester, Islington, Hackney, Richmond, Stockport, Sheffield, Birmingham, Canterbury, Wirral, Liverpool, Leeds, and Hackney.
In 2013 the first Christmas dinner was held in Manchester, in 2014 Manchester and Hackney. In 2015 Manchester, Hackney and Leeds and in 2016 a Christmas dinner took place for care leavers in Manchester, London, Leeds, Liverpool and Oxford.
Lemn says it’s a community collaboration: ‘The most important thing is that everything is raised in the community where it’s based.’
He says it’s not only the friendships and bonds made by care leavers but the magic of the volunteers working together that is ‘just as important as the final event’.
More: Food
His particular Christmas Dinner highlight? ‘One Christmas, Nitin Ganatra came in and stayed for hours. One of the young people said “he can’t believe this person is spending so long with us on this day out of all”.’
‘We are lighting up the country like a Christmas tree,’ the fundraising page says.
Hear, hear.
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METRO
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