Christmas dinner provided for the homeless in Athlone to become annual event

Athlone woman Lisa Malone who helped to provide Christmas dinner for the homeless on December 25 in St Kieran's Community Centre has said that the people of Athlone have really surpassed her expectations.

Following on from the success of the first event of its kind, Lisa hopes to host the Christmas dinner annually.

Ten volunteers helped out on the day including three drivers. “It went very well,” stated Lisa. "We catered for about 30 people. We were expecting teething problems but we got none.”

Lisa would like to thank the person who supplied and cooked the meals for Christmas day who wishes to remain anonymous. “All the food was brought into us on that day freshly cooked and on hot plates so we just had to serve it.”

The voluntary group has a Facebook page called ‘Helping Hand Athlone’ where people can offer donations and help get involved. Their first goal was to provide a fabulous Christmas meal to the homeless people of Athlone and anyone who was alone this Christmas but according to Lisa they will be expanding with the introduction of a pop-up soup run in the town next year.

“We’ll need loads of volunteers for that because we’re going to try and do it on a rolling basis every evening between 7pm and 9pm on St Peter’s Square. It’s not just going to be open for the homeless, it’s going to be open for those who may be living alone, the elderly.

Lisa explained: “The cost of living has got very expensive so anyone that wants a cup of soup and a roll and even a chat to the volunteers they’re more than welcome to pop up.

“We’re going to call a committee meeting next week and then we’re going to call a public meeting that people can come to and can sign up to volunteer. Hopefully, we’ll be up and running by the third week in January, if not the end of January.

Lisa thanked Volt Electrical, Alkermes Sport and Social Club and Athlone District Nursing Organisation for their substantial donations which will go towards setting up the soup run.

Speaking about the idea behind holding the first Christmas dinner for the homeless in Athlone, Lisa said: I was thinking of those less fortunate and counting my own blessings and it’s just something that came up.

A committee was then set up by Lisa along with Eileen Cunniffe, Aisling O’Kane, Deirdre Joyce and Fiona Clarke. “The idea just grew legs and we put the wheels in motion. A huge thanks to the public here in Athlone. They really showed the true meaning of a Christmas spirit. The amount of people that contacted me and donated money for me to go out and buy stuff for them or donated different stuff that different members of (a family in need) were looking for, it was phenomenal.”

Lisa added: “The nine families we looked after, we looked after them well but it was the general public. We were just the messengers. The people of Athlone have really surpassed my expectations. They were fantastic. It was the general public that made it happen for these people.”