Restaurants ask customers to donate to the homeless for Christmas

Manchester restaurants are hosting a national campaign to help homeless people at Christmas.

The StreetSmart Campaign is returning to Manchester after success last year, and is asking for restaurant customers to voluntarily add £1 to their bill throughout November and December.

These contributions are then donated straight to organisations that provide support for homeless people.

Amanda Croome from the Booth Centre, which offers advice, activities and support to homeless people in Manchester, said that that campaign had been supporting them for a number of years.

“Streetsmart is a great fundraising scheme,” she said. “Our centre not only helps people to find a new home, to sort out benefit problems and address health and addiction issues but also very importantly helps them to re-settle in the community and get back into employment.”

Last year restaurants in Manchester raised £23,000, simply by asking people to add £1 to their bill, which was then matched by the government.

This year the campaign is running until December 31^st.

Glenn Pougnet, Director of StreetSmart said: “We are indebted to Manchester restaurateurs and their staff for continuing to back the campaign.

“Thanks to their efforts and the generosity of their customers we will be able to help those most in need this winter,” he added.