The captain for Sunderland AFC Ladies last week led by example on and off the pitch, helping out a local charity during their darkest hours of need.
Lady Black Cats skipper, Keira Ramshaw, headed down to the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen on February 25, to help serve food to the homeless of Wearside and those who struggle to provide for their families.
Keira was joined on the night by Ant Waterson of Roker Report - a SAFC fan site with ties to the Soup Kitchen through past charitable endeavours. As well as helping out, Roker Report runs annual Christmas fundraisers for the community kitchen.
Go here for more Sunderland news and updates from Sunderland Live
The most recent campaign at the end of 2021 raised in excess of £70,000 through donations from members of the public.
A well-established charity on Wearside, the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen helps provide fresh home-cooked meals to the homeless and vulnerable of the city.
Open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week, the charity relies on donations from the public and North East businesses to help feed poverty stricken residents of Sunderland.
And Keira spoke of how important it is that Wearside has these organisations to help the city's most vulnerable. Speaking to Chronicle Live, she said: "It is massively vital and very important that we have this in place.
"Fantastic work has been done by Roker Report over the years, as well as the City of Sunderland to raise money to support this cause.
"It ensures that people in crisis, including those who are homeless, can still have a meal, and families struggling with low income are welcome too. Soup kitchens keep our community fed, nourished and connected, and as a city it's great that we can help in the way that this one does."
Keira also spoke of the moment when she offered a youngster her coat, as he was without one in the cold North East weather when he visited with his family for food. She added: "A little boy came in with his mam in just a shirt - it was a cold night and he looked very cold.
"He came across quite shy but I was able to hold a conversation about football with him. I asked if he liked football which he responded that he did. I talked about how I bet he loves to score goals, and he was smiling away saying 'yes'.
"I asked him if he was cold and he said yes, so I took my coat off and wrapped it around him. He smiled and said 'thank you'.
"Knowing that the child would be going back home that little bit warmer was a lovely feeling. It was just what the child needed at that time, so it was a no brainer.
"Staff at the soup kitchen on a daily basis do their upmost best to look after our city and its residents. They were giving warm hats away and it was fantastic to see how happy that made the people using the soup kitchen."
Keira added that players and staff at Sunderland AFC pop down and help out wherever they can, whether that's in the form of players visiting to lend a hand, or by collecting clothes for donation to those in need.
The charity wasted no time in thanking Keira and Ant for their hard work, taking to social media to publicly express their gratitude. In a Facebook post, the soup kitchen wrote: "May we take this opportunity to thank Keira Ramshaw SAFC Ladies Team and Ant From Roker Report for giving their time to come serve at our soup kitchen.
"Not only is Keira an amazing footballer but a lady with a heart of gold. A family arrived at our kitchen for support and their son had no coat - Keira had no hesitation and gave away her own coat to the lad.
"Ant sent us a message to say that Keira is also organising more clothing to support the people who visit our service. Thank you for such kindness, thank you for giving your time, and thank you for caring about others.
"Absolute pleasure to have you both, hope you both come back very soon."
Locals wasted no time in taking to social media to praise the hard work of Keira, sharing heartfelt messages of encouragement and pride. One Facebook user wrote: "Her kindness is incredible, very talented on the football field too and a great captain," while another, commented: "Heart of gold Keira."
Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen can be found on High Street West, Sunderland. You can find out more about the charity organisation on their official Facebook page, here.
