Singing their hearts out, the Botolph Singers Ladies Choir raised spirits and much needed money for young carers. The ladies sang a medley of Christmas carols in the beautiful setting of St Mary’s Church in Orton Waterville. Raising hundreds of pounds for young carers, the money will make a huge difference to their lives. Ruth Smith, Choir Director was immensely proud of their efforts. She said: “There’s twenty of us and we pick a cause every year that means something to us. It was a wonderful atmosphere, really really fun. We’ve made around £250. We’re really pleased with how much has been made for the young carers.” Andy McGowan, business development and communities manager at Caring Together: “We really appreciate that Botolph Singers have chosen to support young carers in Peterborough in this way. Being a young carer is a very demanding role that can have huge impacts on the life of the child or young person. Money raised like this helps us to do more to identify and support young carers giving them a much-needed break from their caring role through group support, individual support and trips with other young carers and also with their family.” The Hussaini Islamic centre, pushing religious beliefs aside, hosted a Christmas Dinner for the homeless. Rough sleepers were treated to a home-cooked sit down roast dinner at Westgate New Church. Catering to over 50 people, the event promoted unity and togetherness. On Saturday 28th December members of the mosque, offered more than just food, by chatting, laughing and sharing essentials with the homeless. Members of the mosque regularly help with the Soup Kitchen, but wanted to recognise the importance of the Christmas holiday. Councillors Shabina Qayyum and Amjad Iqbal said, “ This is one example of demonstrating how the local Mosques show integration and giving to those less fortunate in our communities. Islam is a religion of peace and it was a pleasure to be a little part of the fantastic work that the soup kitchen carries out throughout the year. Many thanks to all the selfless volunteers for their participation in such a worthy cause. The smiles tonight on the faces of these homeless people in our city was priceless” RBOrganic, a vegetable farming business based at Home Farm, gathered together to raise money to buy toys for children spending their Christmas in hospital. Creating a huge response from staff, growers, suppliers, contractors and other local companies the company organised a raffle to raise more money. They collected a huge £690 which was then spent on toys to be given out to the children. Not stopping there, members of the team wanted to help deliver the toys. Joined by fan favourite, Peter Burrow from POSH, children’s faces lit up at their Christmas presents. Janet Shrapel, HR Adviser said: “A huge thank you goes to all those that donated prizes but most of all to our kind employees who contributed to such a worthy cause. We hope the children enjoyed their presents!”
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Volunteers from Burton Street Mosque supplying a Christmas meal for the homeless at Westgate church hall. EMN-191229-104429009 Photo: Midlands
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Volunteers from Burton Street Mosque supplying a Christmas meal for the homeless at Westgate church hall. EMN-191229-104418009 Photo: Midlands