It’s around about now on Christmas Day that family come together for Christmas dinner, reflect on the year and look forward to a new one, all washed down with a glass of Bucks Fizz and Auntie Maur’s mince pies.
But Christmas can be an incredibly difficult time of year for a person cut off from family and home.
Crisis at Christmas, every year, provides companionship and support to tackle loneliness and isolation, helping people take their first steps out of homelessness.
With two new centres set to open their doors this year, Crisis need over 10,000 volunteers to make Crisis at Christmas happen for thousands of homeless people. As well as warmth, companionship and hot meals, centres in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Coventry and Edinburgh will provide guests with healthcare and specialist advice on housing, work and benefits.
With this in mind, Jeremy Reeve, who heads up PowerPackXL Ltd (a Cambridge-based manufacturer of unique patented mobile phone chargers), wanted to raise some much needed funds for the charity, so set about using some of his contacts to build a night of fun and laughter to raise some cash for the charity. The number one call on Jeremy’s list was British actor Tony Fadil, as Jeremy knew he was the man when it came to filling a room with celebrities! Tony instantly took on the role and put in the hard work needed to run a VIP list and fill the room.
Many well known faces from TV, film and music turned out earlier in December for a charity casino night in aid of Crisis at Christmas, held in the famous White Room at the Grosvenor Barracuda Casino in London’s Baker Street – the perfect backdrop to a memorable night.
With free-to-play casino tables, guests enjoyed roulette, blackjack and poker, all played for fun. The evening then continued with a charity auction and raffle, in total, raising £2,312.65, all heading off to the charity to be put to use helping London’s homeless this Christmas.
Jeremy Reeve the MD of PowerPackXL has volunteered with Crisis, the single persons homeless charity, for the last five years, working in London during the Christmas week, where Crisis run a number of centres looking after guests.
VIP guests included:
Jaye Gamm, Gerry Todd, Marc Zammit, Paul J Lane, Wayne Gordon (ITV’s Gladiators), Sean Cronin, Kellie Barclay, Hayley Louise, Fergus Gaddes, Dean Maskell, Niqi Bupsie (X Factor 2015), Derry Luca Mensah (X Factor), Paul Manners, Old Men Grooving (Britain’s Got Talent), Simon Gross (Big Brother 2015), Heavy D, Angie Brown (solo artist), Cream Boomtown (TV Reality Star from BBC3, MTV, SKY TV, & Hip Hop Artist famous for hit single ‘Daddy Kool’), James Lewis (ITV’s Deals Wheels & Steals), Dave O’Donnell (UCMMA Promoter), Flint Bedrock (CEO of YSBG Management), Becky O’Brien, Colin Chapman (Author), Colin Marker (Percy Publishing) Nuraya Kokos CEO Baby KoKos Events Limited (PA to Jethro Sheeran), Carl Charlesworth (magician), stand-up comedian Simon Hussein, and a host of look-a-likes and people from the industry.
After spending a week volunteering at a Crisis at Christmas centre, Jeremy, who has volunteered for the last five years, quoted on his Facebook page yesterday:
“337 hot meals were served at my #CrisisXmas centre in East London tonight – 100% of the guests smiling! Your donations MADE A DIFFERENCE!”
So, join Jeremy and make a difference this Christmas…. donate at:
Crisis at Christmas 2015 runs from 23 – 30 December 2015.
www.crisis.org.uk/pages/christmas
Images courtesy Shane Finn (Visual Devotion)