Vicar of St Michael’s ‘stunned’ by the response to her Facebook appeal
A CHURCH in Cathays has been asking for donations of chocolate to give to the Cardiff Food bank in time for Christmas.
The Rev Caroline Downs, of the Parish of Cathays, put out her appeal on Facebook on Friday, November 13, asking people to bring their donations to St Michael and All Angels Church, Whitchurch Road.
“People have been so generous,” said the Rev Downs, who added that she had been “stunned” by the response.
Until lockdown, the church had regularly collected donations for food banks. However, this time they wanted parishioners to look for special luxuries for children and adults.
The vicar said people were frightened at the moment because of the pandemic, so “any bit of colour and joy gives them a little lift”.
She had been considering the idea for a few days, and on her day off on Friday she decided to film a video in a B&M store asking for donations.
By Sunday the video had been viewed 800 times on social media.
The church stopped its monthly donations for the foodbank because of the coronavirus pandemic, and this is the first time they have collected since March 23.
Church council member Paul Gregory said: “Hopefully at some point in the future we can do things as we did before.”
Tom Cuschieri, who donated to the collection, said: “The first thing that came through my mind was that this year more than most there’s been a rise in foodbank need. It’s heart-breaking to think of children going without at Christmas.”
Mr. Cuschieri dropped his donation round to the vicar’s house on Friday evening.
“She was almost in tears. It was quite an overwhelming reaction, given that you would think she’s seen so many acts of kindness after so many years,” he said.
The church plans to keep collecting donations for the food bank until the beginning of December.
Cardiff Foodbank typically feeds about 1,000 people on average per month. In December 2019, the foodbank gave food to 1,496 people, 40% of whom were children.
Chair of Trustees of Cardiff Foodbank, Eleanor Sanders, said: “In winter, people want to heat their house. For some, their choice is heat or eat. And parents want to treat their kids, too.”
The foodbank initially provides people with enough food to last them for three days.
“More and more people are coming back. The issues that have driven people to not have any money aren’t being solved over three days. They have nothing to fall back on at the moment,” said Ms Sanders.
“But the people of Cardiff have been so generous, it’s extraordinary. People have helped out in their droves.”
