Christmas gifts donated for homeless children

Big-hearted members of staff at the Tesco store in Dingwall have generously donated gifts to ensure that every child in Ross-shire waking up in homeless accommodation on Christmas morning will have a special parcel to open.

Highland Council Principal Housing Officer, Derek Manson, and his team are overwhelmed how generous staff have been. He said: “Following a successful collaboration with Tesco last year, they approached us and asked if we would like to do this again this year, and of course we were delighted to accept their generous offer.

“Being homeless is challenging for anyone at any time, and being homeless with children at this time of year can be particularly difficult. Despite the determined efforts of the Housing team in Dingwall to permanently rehouse all homeless persons as quickly as possible, inevitably there are families in temporary, but suitable, accommodation over Christmas.

“For the third year in a row now we have been staggered at the generosity of the management, staff and Community Champion, Tom Norton, at Tesco in Dingwall. I would like to express my sincere thanks to each and every one of them for their outstanding support. My Housing team will be out delivering these gifts to their clients before Christmas, and wishing them well during the festive period.”

In Ross-shire 47 children under the age of 16 will be spending Christmas in suitable, temporary homeless accommodation.

Tesco Community Champion, Tom Norton said: “This event was such a success previously, and so well supported by the management and staff here at Tesco in Dingwall, that we decided to offer our support to the Council’s Housing Team again this year. It is incredibly humbling to see how generous all my colleagues are. They really do epitomise what Christmas is all about, and for that I cannot thank them enough.”