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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Holly Lennon

Glasgow soup kitchen welcomes Love Island winners Paige Turley and Finn Tapp as volunteers

Love Island winners Paige Turley and Finn Tapp stopped off at a Glasgow soup kitchen to volunteer for the night. The couple were on hand to help out Homeless Project Scotland on Wednesday outside Glasgow Central.

Paige, from West Lothian, won the dating show with footballer Finn in 2020 and has gone on to land a record deal and work with a number of high-profile brands since.

The 24-year-old reached out to the Glasgow charity with an offer of support before turning up for their first shift and working alongside the other volunteers.

Colin McInnes who founded Homeless Project Scotland told Glasgow Live: "Paige contacted us after she had seen a video of our work on Twitter.

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"She offered to come and help out so she and boyfriend Finn were out with us on Wednesday. They rolled up their sleeves like all the other volunteers and helped dish out the food to around 200 people and pack bags for the food bank.

"They were also given a tour of our unit to see what we do and met and took selfies with the service users which was really kind of them. It gave the service users a boost and lifted the morale of the rest of the volunteers so it was really nice to have them.

"Hopefully they'll keep supporting us after seeing first-hand what we do. Paige said the experience was an eye-opener for her - especially as she used to work in the city centre."

While Wednesday used to be a 'quiet' evening for the group, in recent months they have seen a massive increase in the number of people in need.

Paige Turley and Finn Tapp volunteered with Homeless Project Scotland (Homeless Project Scotland)

When they would normally see around 80 to 90 people, they are now seeing up to 200 people including children and families.

Colin added: "We've noticed a huge difference since the cost of living crisis began taking hold. We're seeing a lot of families in need of help and a lot of people who are having to choose between heating or eating.

"We always tell them 'you heat your home and we'll feed you'.

"We recently had a woman who we had given a number of items come back in tears saying how grateful she was as she hadn't eaten for two days despite working full time.

"Some people feel like they need to make a donation after getting a food bank package but we don't ask for anything - we're just here to help people who are struggling."

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