For several years, the Derby City Council Neighbourhoods team have helped to organise and run Christmas parties for elderly residents. With the coronavirus pandemic putting paid to any mass gatherings the team decided to find another way to spread some cheer by bringing Christmas to them.
Working with partners, the Christmas Cheer project is setting out to deliver 850 meals across every ward to some of the city’s elderly and most vulnerable residents, many of whom will be lonely and isolated due to the coronavirus restrictions.
With the fantastic support of Derby County, who are providing both food, facilities and cooking meals, Derby College, whose students will be cooking several hundred meals, the Food 4 Thought Alliance and other community groups, schools and local businesses, the team aim to spend a week from Monday 14th to Friday 18th December cooking and distributing the 850 meals to around 50 nominated residents in each of the 17 wards
The team is also planning to install 35, 11ft tall Christmas trees at locations all across the city and has invited residents, schools and community groups to take ownership of the trees and to decorate them. The trees are being placed in planters created by Engineered Learning, who work with at risk or excluded young people. 30 tonnes of free compost has been provided by Vital Earth and the Councils own Grounds Maintenance team will be putting them up in the coming days.
If you’d like to get involved to help deliver the meals or would like to get involved in other ways, then you can get in touch Sharon Sewell or Sarah Dosunmu.
Councillor Jonathan Smale, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetpride said:
This is such a fantastic idea! Having to cancel Christmas parties for lonely and isolated residents has been one of the hardest parts of this pandemic so hats off to the Neighbourhoods team for coming up with the great alternative that is bringing so many people together.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Derby County, Derby College, all the other businesses and community groups who have come together to make Christmas Cheer possible. It really is a heart-warming story.