Birmingham homeless charity, SIFA Fireside, recently received an £18,000 donation from the annual fundraiser organised by prominent supporters from Birmingham’s Irish community.
The group of ladies have been long-time supporters of SIFA Fireside, with members regularly dropping donations of daily essentials such as tea, coffee and socks down to SIFA Fireside’s Drop-In Centre.
Due to COVID restrictions, the group’s last annual fundraiser was 3 years ago, but for this year’s event, Carole Scanlon provided the food for the event as well as Scanlon’s Bar and Club (Spring Road, Acock’s Green), as the venue.
The BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and BBC WM presenter, Bob Brolly (MBE), also volunteered his services as Master of Ceremonies for the event. which featured a raffle with prizes made up of generous donations from Birmingham’s Selfridges. Prizes also included a ferry crossing provided by Melissa McCarthy from Irish Ferries and a skip from ISL Waste Management, as well as a selection of hampers.
Special thanks also need to be extended to Angela Hynes, Barbara Prunty and Agnes Cassidy for organising the event and for their unwavering support of SIFA Fireside who enable Birmingham’s most marginalised people to live happier, healthier lives.
Melissa Roche, the Fundraising, Communications and Volunteering Manager at SIFA Fireside commented: “We’re forever in gratitude to these ladies who have come up trumps raising much needed funds for SIFA Fireside yet again. The determination and hard work to continue raising vital funds for homeless and vulnerably housed people is inspiring.”
Melissa continued; “The Irish community are well known for being generous and have been supporting SIFA Fireside since Sister Sabina founded the charity. Through all of this support, Sister Sabina’s legacy lives on through their actions.”
The funds received will enable SIFA Fireside to continue supporting homeless and vulnerably housed adults in Birmingham through Prevention, Crisis and Recovery services. These services include supporting clients with housing applications, ongoing tenancy advice and improving employability prospects.
SIFA Fireside’s Drop-In Centre also ensures that essential daily needs are met by providing showers, clean clothes, food parcels and hot meals.
To find out more about SIFA Fireside, including how you can support them, visit: https://sifafireside.co.uk/about-us/.
