A Warm ‘Welcome’ In The Kitchen
29th September 2008
The Welcome Centre at St Peter’s Square in West Belfast has received a warm gesture from Phoenix Natural Gas. The Welcome Centre is run by 20 dedicated volunteers and staff, staying open most days between 8am and 10pm.
The centre's busy kitchen provides Belfast's homeless with much-needed meals throughout the day.
Funded by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Supporting People programme, the Welcome Centre is also heavily dependent upon the generosity and support of local people and the business community.
After discovering that the centre's heavily burdened cooker had broken down, Phoenix arranged for a top-of-the-range chrome-style commercial natural gas cooker to be sent over by special delivery. The work of the centre had first been brought to Phoenix's attention by Belfast City Centre Management's Chairman Billy McGivern.
Greg Newhouse of Phoenix, who organised the delivery of the new cooker, said: "What these volunteers and workers do for little reward is amazing. Most people really have no idea of the scale of homelessness around us, especially in Belfast".
Hot Stuff (l-r): Greg Newhouse from Phoenix, Billy McGivern of Belfast City Centre Management and Sandra Moore of the Welcome Centre.