Salisbury man aiming to deliver 200 Christmas dinners to those in need
Thom Belk needs our help to spread some festive cheer.
It's been a difficult year for many of us during 2020, and that's prompted Thom and his fellow volunteers to try and support those who might be isolated this Christmas.
The aim is send festive meals out to anyone in the city and beyond who needs it.
Thom explains who he's hoping to help:
"We want to reach out further to people who are going to be spending (Christmas) on their own, or families who are going to struggle to afford it really. It can be a reflective time, and if you haven't seen anyone or you haven't had any kind of appreciation from society, I can imagine it's only going to make things worse."
The idea follows on from a Community Christmas Dinner that Thom organised two years ago.
That was held at the Chapel nightclub with around 120 people fed on the day, and other meals delivered to homeless shelters and Women's Refuge in Salisbury.
This year, with the Covid-19 restrictions, large gatherings can't be held, so Thom's looked for another way to help.
He's told Greatest Hits Radio it's really important to him:
"A lot's gone on in Salisbury in the last couple of years and we've got through it all. Even though things keep getting put in front of us and they're not great things, but we pull together and do it. It's little examples like this where we can show what great community spirit we've got in Salisbury."
HOW CAN WE HELP?
A crowdfunder's been set up to raise enough money to cover the costs of the food itself and the logistics for the deliveries.
There's a target of £1,500 on the JustGiving page.
Thom's also keen to get volunteers signed up to help on Christmas Day itself.
He particularly needs drivers and drivers' mates to take out the meals, as well as people who can help with food prep - although that part is more limited due to needing to keep to social distancing rules.
Thom says helping out will be a rewarding effort:
"It's doubly productive because we're helping people that are in need but also people that want to help are actually just as lonely as those we're assisting."
He's working with Salisbury charity Encircles to locate those in need of Christmas meals.