By Hannah Phillips
On Saturday 19th December, a couple of our Gliders got involved with a local Church-run project called ‘Serve our Brummies’. This project is supported by LoveBrum, an amazing initiative who unearth local projects who are doing amazing things for their community, but need help and support with funding.
Gliders Bram and Mike represented Glide at the event, as they grouped together with 10 other LoveBrum volunteers and the ‘Serve our Brummies’ team to serve Christmas dinner to over 200 of Birmingham’s homeless.
The day began with the volunteers putting together goodie bags of essentials for each person attending, after LoveBrum’s Ashleigh, unloaded her car full of socks, scarves, gloves and other thermal gear, ready to be handed out after dinner. The bags also included toothpaste, shower gel, deodorant and food items for everyone.
Clothing and sleeping bags were also donated to the cause, so individuals who desperately needed them can stay warm this winter. LoveBrum also went one step further as they set up a call station, so each person could phone their loved ones if they wanted to.
One memorable moment from the event for our Gliders was witnessing one of the attendees breaking down, after speaking about the loss of his parents. Originally from the Czech Republic, he hadn’t slept for a couple of days, so one of the Serve our Brummies volunteers made it her sole mission to get him a sleeping bag.
Bram said, “This was very comforting and heart-warming to witness. When it comes to charity, I’m a little sceptical as you don’t always know where your money is going. But with LoveBrum you know exactly where funds go, straight to the projects they are supporting”.
LoveBrum members operate completely on a voluntary basis and they do this because they care. They give up their own time to get stuck in with every cause and the time and effort they put into this work really shows their commitment. LoveBrum chairmen, PJ and Tim were also hands-on with the other volunteers.
