Staff from a Swadlincote company pulled on their Christmas jumpers and handed out chocolates, gifts and dozens of hearty lunches when they helped give a group of care leavers a festive treat.
The volunteers, who all work for rail maintenance firm MTMS, based in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, gave up their time to work at a very special Christmas party, which was attended by nearly 100 teenagers and young people who grew up in care but have now left the system.
The event, called the Christmas Hope party, first took place four years ago but this was the first time that it had been held post-COVID, and each one of the special guests, who live in accommodation across Staffordshire, was determined to make the most of their day.
Among the treats in store was music, dancing and games, Christmas crackers and a host of presents, as well as a full turkey lunch with all the trimmings.
The event was organised by the company’s chairman, Malcolm Prentice, in conjunction with Trandeep Sethi, district leader for children’s services for South Staffordshire at Staffordshire County Council, who got to know Malcolm when he asked the Derbyshire Freemasons if he could hold a Christmas lunch at Ashfield House, which is home to 10 masonic lodges in South Derbyshire.
He wanted to hold the party because he wanted to bring the care leavers together, because they are all too old to be growing up in care homes or with foster parents, and so instead would be spending Christmas on their own.
Malcolm and the masons not only said yes, but went one better, offering to cook and serve the meal as well as arrange entertainment and hand out presents and Christmas cards as well.
Malcolm said: “The event lasts for only three hours, but there are countless hours of work that goes into it, before, during and afterwards, and all because we want these young people to feel special for a day and know that people want them to be happy.
“The young people come from all over the county and they all arrive at the same time, so it’s all hands on deck to make sure that they get their food, which is why we roped in some of the staff from MTMS to give us a hand.
“Thanks to them and the rest of our wonderful volunteers, everything went smoothly and everyone had a great time. Now we’ll all have a breather and then we can start planning for next year!”
It costs around £5,000 to host the Christmas Hope parties and you can donate for next year’s event by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/festivehope
