Staff and volunteers from the Nomad Trust and YMCA Lincolnshire are celebrating after being named Red Cup Cheer winners thanks to the community initiative from Starbucks and neighbourly.com.
The Nomad Trust won £1,000 and plans to use the funds to buy a new pair of boots for each of the homeless people currently making use of its facilities.
The charity supports Lincoln’s homeless community and provides a number of services including the county’s only emergency night shelter, accommodation advice and supported housing facilities.
Between 16th November and 6th December 2015 the charities’ supporters were challenged to make as much noise as possible on social media using the hashtag #RedCupCheer in a bid to secure £1,000 from the coffee giant.
Victoria Bradshaw, Nomad Trust Project Manager, said: “Thanks to our Twitter followers we acquired the most retweets and were overwhelmed to find out that we’d been awarded the funding, just in time for Christmas.
“For most homeless people their only mode of transport is their feet and we’d like to try and alleviate many foot problems by providing a decent pair of boots or shoes this Christmas.
“Thanks to everyone who got involved – your input is going to help us make such a difference!”
The charity recently ran a crowdfunding page to raise money to pay for Christmas dinner for homeless people, offering the hand of friendship and an opportunity to celebrate during the time of year when many people feel isolated and lonely.
For more information about YMCA Lincolnshire and the Nomad Trust, including how you can make a donation, please visit www.lincsymca.co.uk and http://nomadtrust.org.uk