AS we continue our spotlight series, highlighting the partners who will benefit from your generosity through this year’s Christmas Appeal phase of the Football for Good Fund (FFGF), we turn our attention to a charity which, next year, celebrates its 90^th anniversary, The Wayside Club.

The Wayside Club, housed in a former boxing gym in the centre of Glasgow, opened its doors in August, 1932 with the purpose of helping those facing homelessness throughout the city. For the past 89 years The Wayside Club has provided somewhere to gather, as well as offering food and refreshments, advice, comfort and support and today - as well as throughout the pandemic - these aims have carried through, with The Wayside Club providing a safe space, open seven days a week.

Helping a range of people suffering hardship and poverty each evening, this invaluable service provides food and hot drinks, as well as toiletries, clean clothes and respite from life on the streets. Many of the visitors to The Wayside Club may be facing financial issues but many of them are also dealing with some other kind of challenge, such as substance misuse or a mental health condition.

The Wayside Club relies heavily on donations from local groups and individuals and the support received from Celtic FC Foundation in the past has played an important role in helping the organisation over the festive period, as well as throughout the pandemic at the earlier stages of our FFGF.

Lawrence McGarry, volunteer with The Wayside Club, said: “Celtic FC Foundation have supported the work of The Wayside Club for many years and for this we are extremely grateful. We continue to provide a service seven nights a week and on a Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the support from the Foundation, we have been able to buy essential, easy to make, food for distribution along with goodie bags to help lift the spirits of our service users at this time.”

Being a beneficiary through this year’s Christmas Appeal will help to keep The Wayside Club’s doors open throughout the Christmas holidays and continue to provide their vital services.

Lawrence continued: “This year we have been responding to requests for assistance from individuals either through self-referral or from external agencies so the financial support from Celtic FC Foundation will allow us to provide a supply of essential food which we deliver to the homes of those who require support at this time. It will make a huge difference to so many.”

The Wayside Club is the latest Appeal beneficiary to be confirmed, joining Refuweegee, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, The Cardinal Hume Centre, Borderline, Bow Foodbank, St Anne’s Primary School, St Anne’s Church, Loaves and Fishes, Spirit Aid, the Salvation Army, Safe in Scotland, Glasgow City Mission, PEEK, St Roch’s FC Foundation, The Invisibles, Woman’s Aid in Dublin and Women’s Aid Belfast and Lisburn.

Through the Appeal we want to give hundreds of families in our communities the Christmas they deserve, making sure there’s food on the table and gifts under the tree.

We also wish to help pensioners, women and children in refuge, the homeless community and refugees – as well as a whole host of others facing poverty and hardship.

Charity, and the generosity and compassion of the Celtic Family, will always be our past, present and future – it’s our heritage, our responsibility, our lifeblood.

Please join Celtic FC Foundation in making a difference this Christmas – it’s our reason for being.

The key ways to get behind the Christmas Appeal 2021, include:

Donate by text – text ‘CELTIC’ followed by ‘£1’, ‘£5’ or ‘£10’ to 70085*
Donate online HERE
Donate via PayPal HERE
Donate via Facebook HERE
Donate in Cash – there are collection boxes located in all Celtic Stores
Donate by Cheque – payable to ‘Celtic FC Foundation’ and sent to Celtic FC Foundation, Celtic Park, Glasgow G40 3RE.
Provide support through your Christmas shopping via Give as you Live and AmazonSmile HERE
Make a donation to receive your ‘Celtic FC Foundation Letter from Santa’ HERE
Purchase our brand new Foundation T-shirt HERE
Download Eddi Reader’s unique version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, featured in this year’s Celtic Christmas advert HERE
Support our Light Up the Clover initiative on Thursday, December 9 or matchday bucket collection on Sunday, December 12 - to register as a volunteer collector, call 0141 551 4486 or email cfcfoundation@celticfc.co.uk
Enter our new Christmas Appeal Prize Draw – further details coming tomorrow!

Thank you for your magnificent support.

*Texts will cost the donation amount, plus one standard rate message.

Foundation Christmas Appeal Spotlight - The Wayside Club