{"id":24528,"date":"2020-11-06T15:10:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T15:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=24528"},"modified":"2020-12-10T15:31:54","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:31:54","slug":"bringing-both-sides-of-the-community-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=24528","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Bringing both sides of the community together\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

It is true to say that this Christmas certainly won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be like any other \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

We see the adverts every day. While the shiny families enjoy idealised Christmas Days, and the perfect children open heaps of presents \u00e2\u20ac\u201c their faces aglow with delight, and the pre-Black Friday offers (can you believe that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now a whole month of consumer-obsessed offers?) attempt to entice even the most clam-like of purses \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the majority of us stare at the TV set or PC or tablet or mobile device agog \u00e2\u20ac\u201c many worrying about how they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll put food on the Christmas table \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or any other table for that matter \u00e2\u20ac\u201c let alone afford to buy the kind of gifts our children have come to expect.<\/p>\n

Covid is a cruel virus scarring us mentally as well as physically \u00e2\u20ac\u201c raising anxiety, fears. Keeping families apart, making those happily living alone, lonely. But outside of the unreal TV-land version of Christmas, there are some truly incredible Unite members among us who are going the whole hog to give families food for their table and gifts for children.<\/p>\n

Christmas is a time of magic and Unite has just launched a Christmas appeal to help families finding it tough right now.<\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner is writing to Unite branches to support the appeal. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI have asked that our industrial and retired members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 branches link-up with our Community branches to support their local food banks and other grass-roots charities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner explains.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBecause of the Covid crisis thousands of our members have lost their jobs and many are now relying on a completely inadequate social security system. Unite is determined to do all it can to help.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Helping families since the pandemic first came to these shores in March, is Northern Ireland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Unite in the Community Co-ordinator, Albert Hewitt \u00e2\u20ac\u201c determined to help bring some seasonal spirit to local families.<\/p>\n

Hewitt told UNITElive, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working in partnership with other organisations and mostly focusing on those who have lost their jobs since the outbreak began. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve set up food collection points for members to leave food donations, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working with food banks, making up and delivering food hampers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

‘Food warriors’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hewitt and his relentless team of \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Food Warriors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 know no bounds. On the streets of Belfast, Derry\/Londonderry, Enniskillen, Newry, Ballymena, they go wherever they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re needed. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve given out literally thousands of food hampers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c too many to count,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he says.<\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just about food. The team have been keeping in touch with senior citizens and helping families. Manufacturing members have been making PPE and Hewitt and the team have been out to care homes delivering face masks, plastic aprons and other equipment to where it was needed.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been consistently working with members that have lost their jobs, senior citizens, the working poor and any members that need help, since March. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here to help.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Unite members throughout Northern Ireland, both industrial, community and retired have been donating and helping to raise funds. Together with industrial regional officers they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been giving advice to members through zoom meetings.<\/p>\n

But no one can forget that lockdown or not, Christmas is just around the corner. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where Hewitt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest campaigns come in \u00e2\u20ac\u201c #Christmas Appeal 2020 with Sponsor a child for Christmas<\/em> and Food Bank Donations<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s looking for both donations and volunteers to help out. And he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also very pleased that Unite is now running a national Unite Christmas Appeal to help out members and families finding life tough right now.<\/p>\n

As we said earlier, Unite assistant secretary Steve Turner launched the Unite Christmas Appeal recently.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is determined to do all it can to help,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Turner. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSolidarity is about looking after one another, which is why as a union we are not prepared to sit back while families struggle to feed their families or buy Christmas toys for their kids.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPlease ask your branch to link-up with our Unite Community branches to support your local food banks and other grass-roots charities.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany of our branches already support their local food banks, which is fantastic. But if your\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, please link up with Unite Community branches and make a real difference this Christmas.<\/p>\n

‘Massive increase in food bank demand’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our Community members who regularly volunteer in food banks have told us that there has been a massive increase in demand since Covid.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite knows that food banks and charity are not the solution to the hunger children face. As a union we will continue to put pressure on the government to address the issues that cause poverty. Higher wages and a fairer social security system must be part of the way forward.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s branches and amazing members can make a real difference to so many this winter. And you could be a part of that,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

In a part of the UK where pockets of division can still linger, Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work in Northern Ireland is helping way beyond just giving out food boxes or calling a lonely pensioner. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re bringing both sides of the community together,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Albert.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about coming together as a community, caring for each other and helping out wherever we can,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he adds. And if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the true spirit of both Unite and Christmas \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what is.<\/p>\n

WANT TO HELP? <\/strong><\/p>\n

If you live in Northern Ireland and want to help Albert and the Community team contact community@unitetheunion.org<\/a> for details of your nearest branch. And if you want to donate or volunteer please contact foodbank@northbelfastadvice.org<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if you want to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098sponsor a child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 contact christmas@northbelfastadvice.org<\/a><\/p>\n

And if you live elsewhere to help with the union-wide Unite Christmas Appeal get in touch with Unite Community at community@unitetheunion.org<\/a> for details of your nearest branch.<\/p>\n

By Amanda Campbell @amanda_unite <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Covid is a cruel virus scarring us mentally as well as physically \u00e2\u20ac\u201c raising anxiety, fears. Keeping families apart, making those happily living alone, lonely. But outside of the unreal TV-land version of Christmas, there are some truly incredible Unite members among us who are going the whole hog to give families food for their table and gifts for children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[648,1295,164,219,232],"wps_subtitle":"In the first of a series of how Unite is helping members and families this Christmas we meet Albert Hewitt, who together with an indefatigable team of Unite volunteers, has been making a real difference in Northern Ireland","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24528"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24534,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528\/revisions\/24534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}