A youth club in North Belfast have returned to hosting their annual Christmas dinner for local older people.
Streetbeat Youth Project, based in the Woodvale area, were able to spread a bit of festive cheer last week by inviting local older people to Forthriver Bowling Club for a special meal on Wednesday, December 14.
Working with young people in the Greater Shankill area, Streetbeat runs a number of programmes including personal development groups, counselling, mentoring, weekly drop-ins and issue-based programmes in a number of local schools.
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Each year, a different group of young people take turns to organise the Christmas dinner event, and this year it was hosted by one of their girl groups that meet every Wednesday night.
This was the first year the event could return following the coronavirus pandemic, with a representative for the group saying it was great to see familiar faces returning, as well as being able to welcome some new people.
The young people took complete responsibility for the running of the event, from welcoming guests, serving and clearing each course, to even walking some of the older people back home at the end.
The meal was provided by the nearby Ability Cafe at the Spectrum Centre, with those in attendance enjoying the food as well as a game of bingo, before receiving a Christmas hamper to bring home.
A spokesperson for Streetbeat said: "Although the weather outside was cold and frosty, the event turned out to be a very heart-warming experience for both young and old and once again highlighted the enthusiasm and kindness of the local young people.
"As they left the guests were full of praise for the whole evening with a lot of thanks being given."
One of the young girls involved in running the event said: “The pensioners’ dinner was an amazing thing to experience. Getting to socialise with the older generation and getting to learn things that I didn’t already know.”
"The pensioners’ dinner was a surreal experience for all the young people in my group who ran this event. This was a new experience for us as a group of young people as it is something we have never done before," another added.
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