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22
Dec 2022
Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: Making Christmas special for struggling families
This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, Vicky finds out what its team and supporters have been doing to ensure its customers can have a happy Christmas, even in difficult circumstances.
Our appeal runs for two more days. Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help.
The festive season may be upon us, but demand for help from Resurrected Bites has never been higher.
Sophia Clark, who runs the organisation's community grocery in New Park, said:
Along with the volunteers at New Park, Sophia was able to fill the woman's freezer to see her through the festive period and ensure her children wouldn't go hungry.
She later received a message thanking her for what she had done, concluding: "God bless you, you are a diamond and a special one at that."
Sadly, the woman was just one of many who have been forced to call on Resurrected Bites for the first time this month alone.
Sophia said:
Read more:
- Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: 'I shouldn't need this- but it's a lifesaver'
- Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: 'We had good jobs but we were still struggling'
Sophia said some of the stories she hears are heart-breaking. Along with volunteer Karen Martin, who also speaks to people arriving at the community grocery to ensure it can meet their needs, Sophia said she often cries in the office behind closed doors once the visitor has left, before getting back to work.
But the very tough side of the job is balanced by the heart-warming elements.
Sophia knows she is making a difference at a time of crisis for many people – messages like the one from the mum whose bill had left her overdrawn provide some comfort amid all the challenges.
There is also fantastic generosity towards Resurrected Bites and its customers, especially at this time of year.
When I visited the New Park community grocery last week, there was a small Santa's grotto in the corner, with a volunteer ensuring children could meet Father Christmas even if their parents couldn't afford to buy tickets for a commercial event.
The shelves had been stacked that morning with toys and chocolates for those who wouldn't be able to afford treats. Although they had been snapped up quickly, more were still coming in and being laid out for other customers.
Resurrected Bites founder Michelle Hayes said:
Businesses and individuals have been generous with selection boxes, tubs of sweets and other small luxuries for Resurrected Bites to distribute to its customers.
There have also been deliveries of blankets, warm jumpers and festive decorations.
The Christmas tree in Santa's grotto at New Park came from the festival at St Thomas the Apostle Church in Killinghall, donated by Mole Country Stores near Ripley. After being on display at the community grocery, the firm asked that it be given to a family who wouldn't otherwise have a Christmas tree.
The amount of food and other treats available is a dramatic improvement from earlier this year, when demand was outstripping the volume of waste food arriving from supermarkets.
Sophia said the kind of generosity in evidence in the run-up to Christmas – and knowing how much difference she and the volunteers could make to people – is what has kept her going in challenging times.
Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas.
It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it.
Click here to contribute now.
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