A year ago in school I was presented with the opportunity to volunteer in the east end of Glasgow with my peers and my teacher Mr Sangster, to help at the Bellgrove Hotel (a homeless shelter) and at a Salvation Army hostel, assisting the Sisters of the Mother Teresa missionaries to offer aid to the homeless who are taking shelter there.
I had no idea what it was going to be like. However, upon arrival, I soon realised that it was nothing like I had imagined. I was given a bag of toiletries to hand around to the men who were staying there. This was real eyeopener for me personally, as it showed me the true extent of these people’s hardships and deprivation, and that something as simple to you and me, such as toothpaste was almost a luxury for these poor men. As much as they greatly appreciated the donations we gave them, almost all of them come down from their rooms just to have a conversation with another person. Getting the chance to speak and to know to these men is a truly humbling experience and made me appreciate everything that I have. Each man has a completely different story from the next, from people struggling with addiction to people who’ve just fallen on hard times, you name it.
My teacher organises a bi-weekly visit and ever since that first opportunity, I’ve made sure to go to the hostel each Saturday, as I believe it is the utmost important thing in life to give back to the community by helping those less fortunate.
When we visited the hostels, all the donations came from either teachers and pupils, parishioners of St Euanan’s and from the Sisters of the Mother Teresa Missionaries. Although we were taking a variety of donations with us, I couldn’t help but feel that we needed more. So I thought I’d show a little initiative and thus decided to run an appeal during the season of Advent in St Mary’s, Duntocher.
With a little inspiration, I had the idea to have a Christmas “giving” tree at the back of the church with the decorations being Christmas labels attached with a desired item on it, where the parishioners could take one and hopefully bring said item to be collected at the church. This was just a form of symbolism for the parishioners.
In order to raise awareness for my appeal and generate some buzz, I attended each of the Masses on the first Sunday of Advent and gave a short speech explaining what the appeal was all about. The sheer level of support blew any preconceptions out of the water. On the first day the appeal was announced, we received a cash donation of £75. By the end of the two-week period, we had amassed an incomprehensible amount of donations ranging from hats, socks, gloves, scarves, jumpers, t-shirts, chocolate bars, biscuits, toiletries and a further £50 in cash.
I have to say that the parishioners of St Marys’, Duntocher, are a credit not just to the community, but to society. The generosity expressed by the parishioners will go a long way towards bettering the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. I intend to continue running this appeal for many advent seasons to come. Thank you for taking the time to read this piece.