Monday 17 Dec 2018
Birmingham New Street to host Christmas Eve dinner for 200 homeless people
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
Network Rail is teaming up with an award-winning charity this Christmas Eve to provide a three-course festive dinner at Birmingham New Street station for up to 200 homeless people.
While most of us will be busy making final preparations to spend the holidays with our families, for some Christmas can be a very lonely and bleak time.
For dozens finding themselves in that position in Birmingham, volunteers from Network Rail will work with the Midland Langar Seva Society to bring them some festive cheer.
Tables will be set, gifts will be wrapped and Birmingham New Street station will be set for a party.
Midland Langar Seva Society, which has won a Queen’s Medal and Pride of Britain award for their work feeding the homeless, will provide three courses of vegetarian food, non-alcoholic drinks, and entertainment in the form of a DJ, carol singers and Christmas gifts.
Pat Power, Birmingham New Street station manager, said: “We are really looking forward to hosting this event on the station concourse this Christmas Eve. Midland Langar Seva Society do great work nearly every night of the year across the Midlands and beyond, and it’s a pleasure to be able to host this special Christmas treat for the many people they regularly help in Birmingham, by giving them a hot meal and a chance to unwind for a few hours out of the cold.”
Randhir Singh, Midland Langar Seva Society co-founder, said: “We have a Christmas party every year for our service users where we can give them a festive hot meal with a present. But this year the fact that we are being supported by Network Rail means that we can actually have the party indoors and give them the VIP service they deserve.
“Everyone will be treated to a three-course sit down meal and Santa with a present for all, a DJ and lots of volunteers from both MLSS and Network Rail to make them feel like part of a family. MLSS is very grateful to Network Rail for supporting us with this event.”
Midland Langar Seva Society is a charity based on the Sikh principle of ‘dasvand’, which involves giving 10% of your time and earnings to help those less fortunate.
Volunteers from Network Rail and Midland Langar Seva Society will work throughout the evening to cater for up to 200 people.
A section of the station concourse will be reserved for the event between 6.30pm and 9.30pm on December 24.
Notes to Editors
Midland Langar Seva Society
- Each week Midland Langar Seva Society gives out 12,000 free hot meals to the homeless around the country.
- 500 volunteers buy and prepare food nearly every night of the year, while encouraging the public to volunteer and donate food and kitchen equipment.
- Since the charity launched in Walsall in 2013, Midland Langar Seva Society has provided one million hot meals to homeless people in 17 locations around the UK as well as internationally, in India and Germany.
Birmingham New Street
- Birmingham New Street is the sixth busiest railway station in the UK, and most used outside of London.
- Latest figures from the Office for Road & Rail show 43.7 million passengers passed through the station in the last year.
- An average of 170,000 passengers travel in and out of Birmingham New Street daily, on more than a thousand trains.
Contact information
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Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
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