Dozens of teenagers and young people who grew up in care but have now left the system will be reunited for the first time in two years when an annual Christmas party takes place again next month.
Around 100 16 to 25-year-olds, who all live independently in homes across Derbyshire and Staffordshire, will be fed a full turkey lunch and treated like royalty at the meal, which takes place on December 9.
The event is run by volunteers and members of the Derbyshire Freemasons in order to give the young people, who all grew up in care homes or with foster parents, a pre-Christmas treat.
The majority of them are now too old to be in care and so live on their own across both counties, which means that they can be socially isolated and often have nobody to celebrate Christmas with.
The Christmas meals had to be cancelled during the last two years due to COVID, but they were replaced with hampers filled with gifts and food, all of which were hand-delivered to their homes.
The end of the pandemic means that the party can now be held again, with everybody on the guest list due to be picked up by minibus during the morning and taken to the Ashfield House freemason hall in Burton, where the event will take place.
A Christmas lunch for 100 young people who grew up in care but have now left the system is being held again in Burton next week after a gap of two years.
There they will be handed Christmas cards and presents and treated to a three-course meal, with entertainers including musicians and magicians keeping them entertained.
The idea for the Christmas lunch came from Trandeep Sethi, district leader for children’s services for South Staffordshire at Staffordshire County Council, who approached the masons to ask for permission to prepare a Christmas meal at Ashfield Hall.
They responded by offering to organise the whole thing, with Malcolm Prentice, a member of the lodge and the managing director of Swadlincote-based rail maintenance firm MTMS, taking a leading role and offering to host the event every year since.
Malcolm said: “It’s wonderful for us to be hosting the event again and we can’t wait for December 9. The hampers made a huge difference by spreading some seasonal cheer but there is nothing like bringing everyone together under the same roof to celebrate Christmas.
“It’s only when you start hearing the stories that you realise how challenging being a care-leaver can be and how alone many of them feel without family or friends, especially at a time of year when it’s all about getting together.
“As soon as they get here we make a fuss of them and nothing is too much trouble for our volunteers. I’ve seen teenagers walk in here who are too shy to even raise their eyes to look at anyone, only to end up singing and laughing along with everyone an hour or so later.
“This year has been tough on everyone but we’re expecting it to have taken its toll on our young people, some of whom we haven’t seen for a very long time. We can’t wait to see them again and give them a party to remember.”
You can donate to the Christmas Hope hamper appeal by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/festivehope
