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Volunteers spread Christmas joy
 | | Open Christmas 2009 at St.Andrews Hall, Norwich Graham Ford and his dog Harvey |
26 December 2009 10:26
Volunteers have helped bring a little Christmas cheer to people who would otherwise have been spending Christmas Day alone.
Guests from across Norfolk packed St Andrew's Hall, in Norwich, for the 18th year of the Open Christmas event, which provides a free Christmas dinner and tea, entertainment, food parcels, clothing and a warm welcome on Christmas Day, for those on their own or homeless.
Linda Harper, one of the organisers of Norwich Open Christmas, said this year there had been 100 people booked in for transport to and from the venue, and 150 people in the hall when she did a head count.
She said they expected to have up to 400 people at the event by mid-afternoon when the food was served.
Victor Goodwin, 76, from Paragon Place in Pottergate, Norwich, said: “I have been coming here for 10 years, because I do not have any family to spend Christmas Day with.
“It is comfortable here and everybody is cheerful. I also come here for the company and the meal they serve is excellent.”
The food, which includes a traditional turkey dinner and vegetarian option, is prepared on Christmas Eve at Norwich City College, which lends out its kitchens every year for the event. Cambridge Catering Company also donates crockery and cutlery.
People invited range from the homeless to those who own their own homes, but are on a very low income or pension. There are also people who have been discharged from hospital, or released from prison immediately before Christmas.
Graham Wray, 59, works as a street pastor in Norwich and this was his first time helping out as a volunteer at Norwich Open Christmas.
He said: “I was out on the streets on Christmas Eve looking out for some of the vulnerable and telling them about Norwich Open Christmas, so I am hoping to see some of them here.
“I have also seen a lot of faces here from people I see quite a lot while working as a street pastor.
“I think Norwich Open Christmas is about giving that little bit extra care and showing there are people who are willing to give their time to make other people's lives better.”
It was party time at Great Yarmouth's Marina Centre on Christmas Day as nearly 300 people enjoyed the town's 13th Open Christmas.
Organiser Mike Hope, 69, who launched Open Christmas in Norwich 17 years ago, once again cheerfully gave up his family Christmas for a much bigger family of lonely people.
The retired IBM manager, who is aided by his wife Rosie, said: “Anyone who does not have a normal family Christmas is welcome. We get a lot of elderly people living on their own, people short of money, young people with drug problems and some with mental health problems.
“We also see people who have recently been through divorce or bereavement and are on their own.”
Mr Hope, of Thurton, near Loddon, said the idea for the scheme had come from his wife who had worked with people going through drug and alcohol rehabilitation and realised that loneliness at Christmas could make people vulnerable to relapses.
As usual, Bernard Matthews donated 40 turkeys - 22 for Norwich and 18 for Yarmouth - and the hard work for Mr Hope and his team of helpers began on Christmas Eve cooking the birds and peeling sackfuls of potatoes.
Mr Hope, who will be sitting down to his own Christmas dinner at home today, said: “Apart from the turkeys, the rest of the food, from the vegetables to the minced pies, comes from the North Walsham-based charity Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal.”
As well their meal, guests at the Marina Centre were entertained by a locally-run disco and singer and entertainer Dave Salt.
To meet the cost of catering for 750 people in Norwich and Yarmouth, Mr Hope has to raise £3,000 each year, relying on donations from local businesses and charitable groups.
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