Scarborough Christmas Together: Here's how you can help to make the 2024 event a success

The Scarborough Christmas Together project (formally known as Home Alone at Christmas), was set up in 2015 to help people in the community that would otherwise spend Christmas Day alone.

For the second time, Scarborough Christmas Together will be held at Gallows Close Centre and will cater for between 30 and 40 guests who will be required to pre-book their place.

The day will begin with tea/coffee on arrival, followed by a traditional Christmas lunch.

A programme of entertainment is planned for the afternoon, with a light tea being served towards the end of the day.

Traditionally, the event has been aimed at people who would normally spend Christmas Day alone, however, recently the invitation has been extended to families and those with children who may not have the finances or means to celebrate in this way.

This year, Scarborough Christmas Together will be coordinated by local residents David and Karen Brown who will build on the strong foundations put in place by Monica Smith in previous years.

David said: “Nobody should spend Christmas alone.

“With the current cost of living crisis, it is more important than ever to provide this opportunity within the local community for people who can’t afford to have a Christmas lunch.

"We need a team of volunteers to help us with things like meal prep on Christmas Eve.

“The more people we get, the more we can do.

“We’re not currently planning to do transport on the day, but if we find volunteers who can help with that, it’s a possibility.”

Karen said: “We’re also asking people to donate gifts for us to give to each guest. No alcohol, just small gifts like biscuits and chocolates will mean the difference between making it a good day and a superb day.

"If anyone is making a Christmas cake, we’re asking if they would please consider making an extra one for us.

"We’re also planning to approach local schools to ask if they would make Christmas cards for our guests.”

The event will be supported by volunteers and partner organisations such as Barrowcliff Residents Association, Gallows Close Centre and Barrowcliff Big Local with the volunteering team giving up their Christmas Day to benefit others less fortunate than themselves.

The event is completely free and reliant on local donations and fundraising efforts.

Donations already received include £200 from Barrowcliff Residents Association, £500 from Barrowcliff Big Local and Councillors John Ritchie (Woodlands Constituency) and Subash Sharma (Newby Constituency) have each donated £500 from their Locality Budgets.

A JustGiving Page has been launched to raise a further £300 needed to make the day a success. Donations can be made online at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Scarborough-Christmas-Together-2024.

For more information, call 07770 748462 or email [email protected].