WITH our 2018 Christmas Appeal set to come to a close this weekend, we continue to look at the organisations which will benefit from your generosity this festive season.

Our attention now turns to Glasgow Night Shelter, a facility which provides emergency shelter to the city’s destitute asylum-seeker men, who cannot access statutory homelessness services due to their immigration status.

The shelter is open from 8pm to 8am, 365 nights a year, offering a warm, safe place to stay – and a nourishing hot meal – to some of the most vulnerable and desperate people in Glasgow. The service also connects guests to advocacy and health services, language classes and enrichment activities offered by other partners in the city.

Annika Joy of Glasgow Night Shelter, spoke of the struggles faced by many of those who use their service and the importance of the support received through our Christmas Appeal.

She said: “In a cold, unfamiliar city, Christmas can be a particularly dark, frightening and isolating time. Throughout the rest of the year, our guests depend on Glasgow’s public buildings during the daytime hours to provide shelter, warmth, connection, social interaction and activities.

“But when those buildings are closed for Christmas and New Year, guests have nowhere to go, very little to do and often very little to eat.

“The support received from Celtic FC Foundation will hopefully allow us to do even more over the festive period. We’d love to be able to keep the shelter open during daytime hours (8am to 8pm), in addition to our usual night-time offer, for as much as possible through the festive period. Any donation received would go a long way towards allowing us to do this.

“We are enormously appreciative that Celtic FC Foundation has, in the past, chosen to recognise the urgent and vital need for our service, and to support some of the most marginalised people in Glasgow.

“We want to offer our guests a warmer, safer, friendlier, healthier and happier Christmas and New Year than we’ve ever been able to before and we’d like to thank Celtic FC Foundation for their support. Our guests are very grateful.”

Glasgow Night Shelter becomes the eighteenth Christmas Appeal beneficiary to be confirmed, following Scottish Refugee Council, The Invisibles, St Roch’s FC Foundation, Glasgow City Mission, Spirit Aid, Salvation Army Parkhead, Refuweegee, Simon Community Scotland, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, Loaves and Fishes, Glasgow East Women’s Aid, Elpis Centre, plus three London-based organisations – St Anne’s Primary School, St Anne’s Church and the Cardinal Hume Centre – and two in Ireland – Women’s Aid Dublin and Women’s Aid Belfast and Lisburn.

Through the Appeal, we want to help hundreds of local families facing poverty. Giving them the kind of Christmas most of us take for granted. With lots of food on the table and gifts for the kids. Making sure Santa pays a visit on Christmas Eve.

We also want to support pensioners on our doorstep, by lending a hand at a difficult time of year. Local charities need our help too. We can make a massive difference to the lives of children, the homeless, those living in refuge, refugees and those facing other challenges.

Your generosity has been overwhelming so far but there’s still time to get involved. You can get behind the Christmas Appeal in the following ways:

1. Donate by Text – text ‘CELT07’ followed by ‘£1’, ‘£5’ or ‘£10’ to 70070

2. Donate Online HERE

3. Donate via Paypal HERE

4. Donate in Cash – there are collection boxes located in all Celtic Stores

5. Donate by Cheque – payable to ‘Celtic FC Foundation’ and sent to Celtic FC Foundation, Celtic Park, Glasgow, G40 3RE.

6. Give As You Live via your Christmas Shopping HERE

7. Download Toy Tin Soldier’s charity single ‘A Club Where All Belong’ HERE

Thank you for helping us to Make Dreams Come True this Christmas.