Christmas is a time for Giving: #ReverseAdvent

When the cold sets in and the nights get darker, winter arrives along with the excitement of Christmas. There’s so much to look forward to; from putting up the tree, wrapping the presents, watching Home Alone 2, to eating our way through the advent calendars. As the song goes, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

This year I’m breaking tradition. There are no advent calendars in my house. Instead we’ve been sent these big blue boxes from Co-op. Our challenge is to add an item to the box each day and when the box is full, we donate it to someone in need. There are 650 incredible people taking part in Co-op’s #ReverseAdvent campaign this year and it’s amazing to see so many boxes being filled across the country. We’ll be able to help a lot of people this winter.

Armed with a £5 voucher from Co-op and an extra few pounds, I’ve been able to get a variety of non perishable foods to fill up my box. I’ve added some tins, like kidney beans, chick peas and sweetcorn. There are bags of rice, pasta, a jar of coffee and some biscuits too. Take a peek…

The food, plus some warm blankets and that hat I knitted, are all donated to an incredible charity called Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS.)

Midland Langar Seva Society is a charity which serves the homeless. It was founded by five old school friends, who decided to take Langar out onto the streets to feed the homeless. Langar is free food which is served in Gurdwaras and it’s available to everybody. Although a Gurdwara is a Sikh place of worship, anyone and everyone is welcome.

Midland Langar Seva Society began their charitable work in the city of Walsall, England. Within just 3 years the charity has expanded and now they have multiple bases across the UK, providing food for thousands of homeless people nationwide, every single week. Their work doesn’t just stop at our shore lines. They have a program in New Dehli, India, where they help the underprivileged with support, education and food.

In the height of the Calais crisis, where thousands of refugees were struggling in the Jungle, a team from MLSS went over to offer supplies to those in need. They are now planning to head back out to Europe to help the orphaned refugee children in Greece.

I find this all completely mind blowing. All this started with a group of friends who just wanted to feed the homeless, and now they have formed a team of real life international superheros! I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to all those that volunteer for MLSS. Thank you for taking care of others, you are all incredible and inspiring human beings.

I also want to say many thanks to Co-op for starting this campaign and encouraging us to give more. You’ve not only given hundreds of us the opportunity to help, and donated thousands of pounds yourself, but you’ve opened up some new opportunities. I was lucky enough to join the MLSS on a Feed this Sunday and the experience was completely eye opening and rewarding. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!