itison’s annual fundraiser for Social Bite launches this week

An annual fundraiser is hoping to provide 100,000 meals for homeless people.

itison’s yearly fundraiser for Social Bite launches tomorrow, (Thursday 10 December) at 7.30am to help those most in need this Christmas. The online experience site is asking big hearted Scots to donate £5 to buy Christmas dinner for a homeless person or a Christmas gift for families and individuals hard-hit by the Covid-19 crisis. 

The global pandemic means thousands of families and homeless people continue to fall through the gaps of support and are struggling. itison’s £5 fundraiser will ensure that homeless people, individuals and families can enjoy a hot meal and a gift this Christmas.

The annual Christmas fundraiser has been running since 2014 and has raised over £2.6 million and made 500,000 donations to those who need it most, including their recent fundraiser this summer which saw over 15,000 meals delivered to the homeless, elderly and most vulnerable in our society during the pandemic.

itison is extending the campaign to Manchester and Newcastle again this year, where the company has offices. itison and Social Bite are partnering with The Booth Centre in Manchester and Changing Lives in Newcastle.

In Scotland, Social Bite’s Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen cafes will open their doors to the homeless on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to serve Christmas dinners with all the trimmings, offering food and company at what is one of the loneliest times of the year for many. 

All donations will go to the city or region you’re donating in. 

Oli Norman, chief executive at itison, said: “Every year we’re blown away by the generosity of our members. Tomorrow, we need your help more than ever. No one has been harder hit by the global pandemic than the most vulnerable in our society. By donating £5 you’ll be making sure vulnerable families and homeless people have somewhere to go and a present to open this Christmas after what’s been an incredibly hard year.”

Josh Littlejohn, co-founder of Social Bite, said: “In 2014 we started working with itison on our annual fundraiser, with a target of 800 Christmas dinners. We ended up receiving over 32,000 donations meaning we could feed homeless people for the whole year. Our annual itison fundraiser continues to exceed our expectations every year and has dramatically shaped the work we can do at Social Bite. We couldn’t do it without you, so this year especially, we’d love you to get behind the campaign, share it with all your friends and help the people who need it the very most this year.”  

In addition to allowing Social Bite to provide meals for the homeless throughout the entire year in all their cafes, itison’s annual Christmas fundraiser also plays an integral part in the development of Social Bite’s nationwide housing projects, including the Social Bite village which launched in Edinburgh in May 2018. The Social Bite village provides an innovative housing model and a supported and nurturing environment for 20 people at a time to transition from homelessness back in to society.  To donate £5 to buy a Christmas dinner for a homeless person or give a Christmas gift for children, families and vulnerable individuals visit www.itison.com/donate from Thursday 10 December at 7.30am.