Indie Christmas Dinner Appeal in aid of Welbeloved Club: Help us give 120 socially isolated senior citizens in Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth a festive feast to savour
For the seventh year in a row, the Indie is supporting the Welbeloved Club in giving local lonely elderly people a Christmas lift – and once again we’re asking for your help.
We’re running the Indie’s Christmas Dinner Appeal – and we need YOU to help us give 120 socially isolated senior citizens from the Bishop’s Stortford and Sawbridgeworth area a fabulous festive feast.
The Welbeloved Club was launched by Jo Sydes, now 32, in February 2018 to combat social isolation among the elderly. It is named in memory of her great-grandmother, Doris Welbeloved.
On the first Sunday of each month, around 110 gather at the Sawbridgeworth Memorial Hall and pay £13 for a two-course lunch and, more importantly, company and companionship.
Jo’s mum Gill is chief cook – as well as being the club’s treasurer and a trustee – and they are supported by a band of volunteers, who decorate the hall, prep, plate and serve the meals, sort and distribute gift bags, clear up and take guests to and from the venue. They also deliver gift bags to club members unable to make it to the lunch.
For the club’s lunch on Sunday December 8, with a couple of extra tables squeezed in, 120 diners – and 35 volunteers – will enjoy a meal of turkey and all the trimmings, Christmas pudding with mince pie and brandy sauce or cream, followed by tea or coffee.
There will also be Prosecco, wine, sherry and soft drinks – plus gifts for each guest to take home and prizes for a raffle.
And audience favourite Darrell Williams will again be singing a few tunes after lunch, encouraging the guests to get up and dance off some of their Christmas calories!
Already this year, following an appeal on our Facebook page, our readers and followers have taken up sponsorship packages to cover the cost of ALL the meat, trimmings and vegetables:
Now we would like our readers and followers to give the event the full festive flavour and get the pensioners partying by buying the Christmas puddings and mince pies, alcohol, fizzy grape juice (or similar), crackers and, as presents for the elderly diners, boxes of chocolates and puzzle books as presents (unwrapped).
Already, Stansted Airport has offered to buy all 125 boxes of chocolates, Thorley Park-based Riversdale Roofing will be donating the 36 bottles – 12 each – of red and white wine and Prosecco, and, after individual donations had been accounted for overnight on Thursday, Stortford Man with a Van Richard Webb has mopped up the crackers, mince pies and fizzy grape juice.
As of late Friday morning, all that remains to be bought are 122 puzzle books!
HOW TO HELP
Using the Welbeloved Club’s ‘shopping list’ form at the foot of this article:
1.Decide what you want to buy and tick the appropriate box (if you want to buy more than one of something – for example, 3 puzzle books – then say so in the box shown)
2.Complete the form with your name, email, phone number, the date you plan to drop off your pledged items and where – the Indie or the Gill family home.
3.Buy the items – ideally from local shops, convenience stores or supermarkets
4.Drop off the items at the Indie office at 7 Palmers Lane, off the top of Bridge Street, in Stortford (CM23 3XB) – we’re open weekdays only, 9am to 6pm – or the Gill family home at 20 Cedar Park, Thorley Park (CM23 4JU).
Please bear in mind that we require ALL items by 5pm on Thursday December 5.
Gill said: “I can’t tell you how grateful we are for the continued support of the Indie and their readers for the Welbeloved Club – we feel very privileged.”
If you have any problems, please email paul.winspear@stortfordindie.co.uk.
