Lisburn man launches Christmas appeal to help to feed families
Lisburn man Stuart Cahoon has been working hard to increase the community spirit in the city and is appealing to people to help with his latest project – collecting supermarket vouchers which will be used to buy food for local foodbanks in time for Christmas.
When isolating during covid, Stuart set up a Youtube channel to share some thoughts and to help tackle loneliness.
Despite lockdown now being over, Stuart feels that there is less community spirit in the city and he is aiming to change that with his Facebook page ‘Chatterhouse’.
In recent years Stuart has collected stationery for schools and toiletries for the elderly at Christmastime.
This year he is hoping to help those who are struggling to feed their families over the festive period.
Stuart said this year’s appeal was inspired by his own times of hardship and he emphasised that people should not be ashamed to reach out for help when they need it.
"This year’s appeal is called The Chatterhouse Food And Giving Appeal,” Stuart explained.
"We are looking people to donate supermarket vouchers. Then we are going to use the vouchers to purchase food and distribute it to local food banks coming up to Christmas.
"People can also leave actual food donations in David Honeyford MLA’s office in 6 Market Place Lisburn. When people buy the supermarket vouchers online they can send the vouchers directly to the email address [email protected] and also they can post the vouchers to me but they need to contact me at the same email address to get the postal address.”
Supporting the Christmas appeal, David Honeyford MLA said: “It’s clear that rising prices and higher heating costs are having a real impact on people's lives across Lisburn and the wider Lagan Valley area.
"Many families are being forced to make very difficult choices, and that extra bit of help can make all the difference especially coming up to Christmas.
"I have supported Chatterhouse’s Christmas campaigns for a number of years and this year my office at 6 Market Place, Lisburn is a drop-off point for food donations for the Chatterhouse Food and Giving Appeal.
"Nobody should feel embarrassed or ashamed about asking for help when they need it.”