Student launches fundraising bid to warm the hearts with hot drinks and pasties this Christmas
Emily Blanchflower (right) and her mother, who are raising money to buy food vouchers for rough sleepers in Norwich. Picture: Jamie Blanchflower - Credit: Jamie Blanchflower
A Norfolk student is hoping hot drinks and sausage rolls can warm the hearts of the needy this Christmas, with a pastry-wrapped charity gesture.
Former Wymondham High School student Emily Blanchflower, has decided to give something back to her community this Christmas, by raising money for bakery vouchers, which she plans to dish out to rough sleepers in Norwich.
Miss Blanchflower, 20, spent a year travelling before starting a degree in criminology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge in September, and said this was an eye-opening experience.
She said: 'I truly can't believe how lucky I am. Christmas gives me the chance to celebrate with my loved ones, eat lots of food and open presents, all in the comfort of my own home.
'However others aren't as fortunate.'
Miss Blanchflower has set up a Go Fund Me page with the goal of raising £100 - enough to buy 20 £5 Greggs vouchers.
She will then spend Sunday, December 23, with her mother and two friends, handing the vouchers out to people sleeping rough on the streets of Norwich.
The group also hope to be able to provide mince pies and woolly gloves.
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She added: 'I really hope our donations will be able to provide just a little food and warmth for the less fortunate over the festive period.'
As well as receiving the support of her family and close friends, Miss Blanchflower has also accepted donations from the Wymondham branch of Morrison's.'
On the fundraising page she wrote: 'Every Christmas I am reminded of how lucky I am, to have family and friends around me, to receive a cooked dinner on the table every night and especially on December 25.
'I have seen over the past years a rise in homeless people within Norwich and it hits home that we are extremely lucky to have what we have.
'Coming up to this time of the year, no-one should be alone or feel that they are along, and with winter coming, a hot drink or something hot to eat might just be the thing that gets them through the day.'
Thus far, Miss Blanchflower has raised £70 towards her target.
