Nottingham's warm hubs have become a lifeline for many across the country, especially as the weather took a turn with the cold snap earlier this month. However, there is concern that January, one of the bleakest months of the year, could see an increase in the number of people accessing the shelters for warmth, food and social interaction.
The rising cost of living along with the energy crisis has meant hubs have opened across the city centre to provide a safe, warm space, conversation and often free or low-cost food for those in need. One of them, the St George Centre in Victoria Street in Netherfield, has now launched a GoFundMe to help ensure it can keep feeding the community.
The page is aiming to raise £5000 to help subsidise the low-cost, hot meals which are freshly prepared on-site from Monday to Friday. Tina Simpson, treasurer and trustee of the centre, said the Christmas meal there was busy.
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Volunteers Nicki Brooks and Amanda Wheldon were hard at work in the days leading up to the meal preparing large boxes and bags of vegetables ready to be cooked. Each person who visited the centre was given a hot Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and a present.
Tina is anticipating that as the colder months continue, the centre will have many more visiting. However, they are launching new initiatives aimed at providing more food and social options for those in need.
She said: "We have a few new initiatives where Jigsaw Homes will work with us from January to provide an afternoon tea with a sandwich, cake and a hot drink on Tuesdays. We also just won some funding from the council so that we can do soup and sandwiches on Thursdays now.
"There are going to be activities and games so people can socialise and we will do different things each week so visitors can come and use the space a bit more. I think it's going to be the new year when it gets colder that there will be more need."
The launch of the GoFundMe will help the centre to keep providing low-cost meals for people and ensure that can continue providing classes, workshops and warmth. As well as the funding page, there are private donations which help the centre to keep running.
Tina said: "The GoFundMe page would basically allow us to continue feeding the community in the new year and hopefully continue being a warm space. We can ensure that people get a hot meal and they get to socialise as well especially since January is known as the most miserable month of the year so that will give people something to look forward to."
The energy crisis is affecting everyone, making it difficult for people to heat their homes and businesses and charities facing rising bills. Donations have meant that the hub has been able to continue providing help for local residents in need.
Tina said: "It's not easy but we are very fortunate that we have a lot of donations of food. We had four deliveries yesterday of which three were food so that's going to come in handy for next year. What we can't use we are passing on to the local food bank for them to use and share out."
Tina confirmed that the centre will remain open even if it doesn't hit the funding total. Private cash donations along with the sale of donated items help to ensure the place will not have to close its doors.
"There is no way it will close as we will find it from somewhere," Tina explained. "We can't close as we have people whose jobs are here and who rely on us. It's a community centre owned by the community and we get private donations we can add to the page for those who don't want to add their names.
"Last week we had about £80 that came in through private donations which was a good week. We had a lady and her sister who usually spend £20 on each other, bring £40 in for us. We raise funds through the sale of donations like books that we get so there is no way we are going to close."
The centre hosted its Christmas meal on December 23, with eat-in or takeaway options available for visitors. Many took the meal home to reheat on Christmas Day. The local Morrisons donated gifts while local butchers Timpson's prepared turkey and pigs in blankets.
The vegetables included a lot of Brussel sprouts, carrots and parsnips donated by Buttercross Farm. Tina is passionate about ensuring that the miles the food travels are kept low and that everything is as local as possible. There was also a traditional turkey option for meat eaters with nut roast for vegetarian visitors.
"We started doing a Christmas meal throughout Covid so we did it again this year," Tina said. "Everyone who came got a Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings including stuffing, vegetables and the whole kaboodle. They got a Christmas pudding each, too, which has been sponsored.
"The meat has been sponsored by Jigsaw Homes and we had a private donation of £100 for pigs in blankets. Morrisons gave us a huge pile of presents for us and they did a Christmas pudding too."
She added: "It brings a bit of joy to be able to do it and we have lots of volunteers coming in to help out with the cooking and serving. So it's a nice day actually."
You can donate to the St George Centre GoFundMe here.
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