THE public will be able to donate £5 to charity this festive season to buy Christmas dinner for someone homeless, buy Christmas presents or help give someone a home.
Social Bite and itison have joined forces for the 10th year to launch their annual festive fundraising campaign Festival of Kindness on Wednesday, December 6.
The campaign has raised more than £3million over the past decade with 700,000 donations made.
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This year donors will have three options; they can contribute £5 to buy Christmas dinner for someone who is homeless, provide gifts for children who might not have a present to open on Christmas Day, or make a donation to help build the first ever Social Bite villages in Glasgow and Dundee and give someone the gift of home.
Josh Littlejohn MBE, founder of Social Bite, said: "Over the past 10 years, itison customers have been some of our most loyal donors and we’re extremely grateful to them for their on-going support.
"Their donations have made a true difference to people experiencing homelessness.
"This year, is even more important as we ask for support for our planned Social Bite Villages in Dundee and just outside Glasgow, which will transform the lives of many."
Oli Norman, founder and CEO of itison, continued: "When we first launched our partnership with Social Bite back in 2014, our goal was to help raise enough to provide 800 dinners for people who were experiencing homelessness.
"We sold 800 vouchers in the first hour and it’s quite phenomenal that we are now in our tenth year having donated over 750,000 meals so far.
"As the temperatures plummet outside, this is one the hardest and loneliest times of the year for people facing homelessness and we are calling on our members to dig deep to donate and help us spread the word of the vital work Social Bite provides at this time of the year."
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Social Bite's coffee shops in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee will be open on Christmas Day to provide people with a Christmas meal plus support, warmth and a sense of safety and belonging.
The money raised from the itison appeal will go not only to providing dinner with all the trimmings that day, but also on providing meals in 2024.
Christmas opening hours in Glasgow will be from 12pm to 4pm on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
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