Three Salford charities are to benefit from a Christmas is Coming event of music, readings and choir singing organised by the city’s Ceremonial Mayor.
Charities Salford Loaves and Fishes, Animals in Distress, and Salford Children’s Holiday Camp will be putting the donations to good use, particularly to ease the impact of the cost of living crisis.
And they desperately need more to keep up their work with demand at an all-time high.
Salford Loaves and Fishes chief executive officer, Jenni Smith, said: “The donations for today’s event will ensure our services can continue.
“It’s horrific. People thought the Covid pandemic was bad, but the cost of living is worse because it’s rising in all areas. We have people who don’t have gas and electricity and we are having to send food packages to them so they can at least have a warm meal in the evening.”
Salford Loaves is a key part of the Salford community providing services for homeless people with drop-in sessions and employability chats.
Ceremonial Mayor Ann-Marie Humphreys said: “We’re in an economic tough time and the world can be an unforgiving place at the moment and the charities need the funds more than ever before.
“I just thought it [Salford Loaves and Fishes] was an amazing charity, that does a huge amount of work to help people with homelessness issues and joins up with the council and works to provide what should be the basic things a decent human being should aspect in life.”
And the charities urged donors to keep giving to help them through the winter challenges.
Paul Ashton, organiser and chair of Salford Loaves and Fishes, said: “On a day like today we have probably raised a couple of hundred pounds which is not enough.
“We as an organisation are needing close to £500,000. We have to keep fighting for every penny we can get.”
One of the other beneficiaries, Salford Children’s Holiday Camp has been established in 1936 and has provided camps for 80,000 children.
Trustee, Edward Lewis, said: “We are still going. We are raising money to refurbish the place, it’s all about money we desperately need it.”
The Ceremonial Mayor said of the camp: “It has taken a lot of children from underprivileged backgrounds who have lived in poverty for years, who otherwise would never get the opportunity to go out and get some fresh air and the holiday as their parents can’t afford to take them away.
“So it is very important to the development of children.”
The Ceremonial Mayor is hosting a series of fund-raising events in the run up to Christmas. The next one is today (Wednesday Dec 7) at GK gallery to promote the Mayor’s calendar.
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