31st December 2012 Bucharest, Romania
Christmas soup kitchen for the homeless of Bucharest
Guest blog by Ian Saunders, our colleague in the embassy, about a Christmas charity event run together with Ambassador Martin Harris and staff volunteers:
The British Embassy joined forces with Bucharest’s leading homeless charity Casa Ioana on Thursday 20th December to serve food to the homeless of Bucharest.
On a sub zero and snowy December morning at the main train station in Bucharest, volunteers from the Embassy worked together with the staff from Casa Ioana. The team served over 200 portions of meat soup and bread to the homeless community.
Thanks to kind donations from a raft of sponsors the homeless people who attended the event were also each able to benefit from a bag of non perishable food items and a selection of warm clothes and shoes.
This event, the first organised one of its kind, was well attended by the media and was featured in the national media and television news.
Ambassador Martin Harris, who has supported the event from the first brainstorm meeting, attended and happily spent time chatting with the attendees. He showed his skills at serving hot soup from the mobile kitchen!
Casa Ioana founder Ian Tilling was delighted with the event and said ” We all sent a clear message to law makers that there are large numbers of homeless people in Bucharest in desperate need of food and shelter. Thanks to your team for bringing some seasonal cheer to a group of people who are often forgotten at this time of year. I guess this is very much on the Bucharest calendar now and I look forward to working with you and your colleagues again next year!”
Raluca,
Felicit echipa de comunicare a instituţiei voastre, pentru ideea de a distribui astăzi înregistrarea în care Excelenţa Sa Martin Harris a citit poezia lui Mihai Eminescu. A fost o idee genială – ceva simplu, cald, elegant, modern şi de mare impact.
Am vrut să te felicit pe tine, fosta mea colegă la FJSC, la Ministerul Muncii şi iată că drumurile noastre profesionale se reîntâlnesc, cu certitudinea că vei transmite mesajul.
La mai puţin un sfert de oră de la postarea înregistrării pe pagina de Facebook a ambasadei, linkul a fost distribuit pe pagina şi pe contul de Facebook ŞtirileTVR, de care mă ocup acum. Mai mult, ştirea a fost difuzată în Telejurnalele noastre de la ora 18.00, pe TVR 2, şi de la ora 20.00, pe TVR 1.
A fost o reală plăcere să te descopăr în continuare fidelă echipei acestei instituţii şi să văd astăzi această înregistrare!
Cu cele mai bune gânduri,
Mădălina
social media editor
TVR
Departamentul Emisiunilor Informative
I wish the Romanian politicians would follow this example. Or at least do something to help the many homeless living in the sewers and on the streets of Bucharest and many other cities.