A Derry cafe has announced they are to continue their popular and important free Christmas lunch scheme.
Staff at Claude's cafe give up time on their Christmases to provide a welcoming space and warm Christmas lunch for those in need.
This Christmas initiative, which has been going in the city for over 20 years, has proven to be a lifeline for many in the community.
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In a social media post, Claude's cafe announced the return of their annual Christmas lunch.
They said: "Claudes are excited to be able to announce that we will be hosting our traditional Christmas Day Event again this year, providing a 5-star festive Christmas Lunch with all the trimmings to anyone within our local community who may be on their own on Christmas Day and would like to join us for some craic or anyone who may be in need of a little extra help as we know this year, in particular, has been tough for a lot of us.
"We are delighted to announce that the event will be held for the second year running in the City Hotel Derry, allowing us all to gather together in this beautiful setting overlooking the river Foyle in the heart of Derry. As usual, we would like to thank all the directors, general manager and staff for allowing us to use this beautiful venue.
"Every year we are blown away by the volunteers and the support from the people of our city. This year we would be grateful for your help again so if you would like to help to make this day as memorable and successful as it has been on previous years.
"If you would like to attend, please just drop us a message and let us know you will be coming. We warmly welcome anyone who would like to attend. Do you know anyone who could benefit from this event? If so, with their permission please send us a private message with further information.
"We will of course keep an eye out for our usual volunteers as our first port of call! If anyone else would like to volunteer please send us a private message with your email address below and we will be in touch. We won't be posting any photos of anyone attending on social media without their consent to ensure it's anonymous.
"We know it's early, but let us take this opportunity to wish all our customers and our Christmas Day sponsors and volunteers a Merry Christmas and a massive thank you for your ongoing support spanning more than 20 years!"
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