Hibernian Community Foundation are set to feed more than 500 members of the local community on Christmas Day as part of their ambitious plans to help people in need throughout the festive period.
Christmas dinner will be served in Easter Road’s brand-new hospitality suites, providing people who may otherwise be alone with an opportunity to spend their afternoon in the company of others with a warm meal in an impressive setting.
In addition to the sit-down meals offered by the club and foundation, food drop-offs will also take place from door to door in Leith, East Lothian and the surrounding areas – giving families and individuals support during what can be a very expensive time of year.
Working in conjunction with Edinburgh based charities and community groups including Dnipro Kids, North East Edinburgh Foodbank and the Salvation Army amongst others will allow Hibernian Community Foundation to support people and families who need it most over the festive period.
Over 170 Ukrainian community members will benefit from the Christmas Day food project, with a total of 28 organisations involved in the nomination process to target support to those most in need.
The extensive upgrades at the stadium mean the Community Foundation have been able to expand their Christmas Day outreach and help a wide range of people with hundreds set to attend in-person on the day, with meals prepared by the Hibernian FC catering team and served by volunteers and club staff.
Throughout the pandemic, Hibernian Community Foundation worked closely with local partners to provide weekly food bags to those in need. While Covid restrictions meant in-person meals at Easter Road were harder to provide, the efforts didn’t stop at Christmas to ensure lots of families benefitted from help.
With 200 food hampers delivered in conjunction with the SPFL Trust’s Festive Friends initiative and 80 hot meals prepared and distributed throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians last year, the 2022 plans represent a significant increase in food provision on Christmas Day with 500 people set to attend at Easter Road.
Lewis Melee, Chief Executive of Hibernian Community Foundation, is grateful for the support the appeal has received from fans, and he hopes the Foundation’s biggest ever Christmas drive will bring some positivity to individuals and families over the festive period.
“The Christmas Appeal is set to support over 500 people across Edinburgh and the Lothians and we have been humbled by the offers of help from right across the Hibs family. It takes a huge amount of work to get everything organised and it’s been a real team effort to get to this stage.
“We’ve got more than 75 people in line to volunteer on Christmas Day to ensure we can deliver everything we have planned, and bidding has got off to a great start in our silent auction which will not only support our Christmas Day meals but will also allow us to continue with meal support right through the winter months.”
As part of the Christmas Appeal 2022, Hibernian Community Foundation are running a silent auction with a host of exciting and exclusive prizes and experiences up for grabs. With lots of incredible club-related opportunities on offer the Foundation are using the power of football to boost their excellent community-based work.
Some of the highlights include a penalty shoot-out with David Marshall, hospitality for two at Celtic Park with Ben Kensell and a private training session with David Gray at the Hibernian Training Centre.
With a week to go until the big day, supporters can still help in a couple of ways as part of the Foundation’s Christmas Appeal 2022:
- Bidding on a range of silent-auction items here
- Donating directly to the appeal by clicking here
To find out more about Hibernian Community Foundation’s extensive range of year-round projects, you can visit their website here.
The East Stand 
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