Chelsea Ladies Vice-Captain Helps the Homeless at Christmas

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Gilly Flaherty fundraises for aid to be distributed on Friday 22 December

Chelsea Ladies vice-captain Gilly Flaherty has set up a fundraising page to help generate money for food and clothes which she, along with her friends and family will distribute in central London on Friday 22 December.

Any leftover items or money will then be shared evenly between several charities who help the homeless all year round.

There will be a collection point at Chelsea Ladies game against Liverpool at Kingsmeadow Playing Fields on Sunday where fans can donate money and any gloves, hats, coats, duvets and pillows.

Gilly says: " For the past four years every Christmas I have hired a mini bus and driven around London to find homeless people so I can look out for them, give them food, water and warm clothing.

"I live in London so when I go round and I see homeless people, its freezing cold and I feel sorry for them. I sit there at night and we take it for granted the heating that we can put on when we are cold and the socks that we can put on our feet when they are cold.

"For me it’s just something that has grown over the years. Personally, I’ve never experienced it but it’s something that pulls at my heart strings and I think it’s something that we all can make a difference with.

"People have all got clothes that they don’t wear, or even if people donate just £10 – that £10 can go towards Crisis and can put someone up for the night and give them a Christmas dinner.

"A lot of the people who are homeless have stories, some of them are there just through circumstances in their life where they have lost jobs, lost homes and that’s where they end up so it’s something that is very close to my heart."

Gilly is aiming to raise £1,500 towards her mission and has so far raised almost £1,000. You can add to the total by donating here.