Festive Friends supporting Tynecastle’s Christmas Day Dinner
On the 25th of December, Big Hearts will welcome around 130 people from various backgrounds at Tynecastle Park for a free festive meal, and is delighted to reveal today that the event will receive funding from the SPFL Trust.
Christmas Day is the most challenging time of the year for many vulnerable or isolated people. Through their grant-based initiative – Festive Friends – the SPFL Trust (Scottish Professional Football League Trust) enables football communities in Scotland to create something special for those in need at Christmas: a free meal and companionship at their local club, as well as free transport to get there.
Thanks to the funding from the SPFL Trust, Big Hearts will support over 100 people on Christmas Day as part of Edinburgh Cheer, a city-wide campaign designed to make Edinburgh the capital of kindness over Christmas. Big Hearts, Heart of Midlothian’s official charity, is one of the 32 grant recipients across Scotland who will deliver a Festive Friends event this Christmas.
Big Hearts has been working closely with partners, local organisations and NHS Lothian to identify groups and individuals who might benefit from a free Christmas meal at Tynecastle. This includes: isolated families, older people, people with poor health or mental health, individuals feeling lonely or living away from their families, migrants and refugees, people living in poverty.
Craig Wilson, Big Hearts Interim General Manager, said:
“As a family-focused charity supporting all generations in need, Big Hearts is delighted to be in the position to open Tynecastle at the most challenging time of the year, thanks to the support from both the Club and the SPFL Trust. We are expecting over 130 guests from various background on the day and we hope everyone will have a memorable time with us.”
Nicky Reid, SPFL Trust chief executive, commenting on Festive Friends:
“The reality is when you don’t eat well, and spend far too much time on your own, you risk your physical and mental health. That is never more pronounced than at this time of year when the nights are dark, the weather is cold, and for some people with few friends or family, loneliness can bear down darkly. We are grateful to the SPFL for generously agreeing to fund this year’s project. It’s a sign of the increasingly aligned values of our organisations that we share a vision for Scotland to be the most community engaged football leagues in the world.”