THE Echo is backing homeless charity Harp in its drive to raise £10,000 to serve 1,000 Christmas dinners to the homeless this festive season.

With our help last year, Harp raised in excess of its £7,000 target in its ten-day Christmas appeal, with many of the homeless people who attended saying it was the best Christmas Day they had ever had.

Now we are asking our readers to help Harp break that record by hitting their £10,000 target.

A family Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, party hats, crackers and presents is something many of us take for granted, but for many of Southend’s homeless, it is something many have not have experienced for many years – if at all.

Staff and volunteers at Harp, which has helped 1,300 people turn their lives around in the last year alone, give up time they could be spending with their families to make this a reality for those less fortunate than themselves, but they need your help.

The charity is asking for donations of just £10 – which will provide one meal for a homeless person – or more, in order to reach their target this year and warm as many cold, lonely and vulnerable homeless people’s Christmases as possible.

It’s the price of a box of chocalates, but it could mean someone tucks into a hearty Christmas meal in the warm and in good company.

Harp’s chief executive Gill Garwood said: “The accommodation issue is sometimes only part of a story where there can be more complex underlying needs, such as mental health.

“Everyone has a different story and a different background, but they are all lonely, isolated and vulnerable.

“When they come to us it’s because they have nowhere to go.

“Often our service users don’t have a family, so we try to create a homely atmosphere at the Bradbury Centre, in York Road.

“When there is snow on the ground I find it difficult to sleep when I think of those on the streets.”

VACUUMS COME TO AID OF CHARITY

A BUSINESSMAN has used his newfound fame to raise money for Harp’s Christmas appeal.

Kris Sale’s business Sale Appliances, in London Road, Westcliff, became an internet sensation this week when images of the Henry vacuum cleaner Nativity scene in its window went viral, quickly spreading across Twitter, Facebook, Buzzfeed and the national press.

The display was created by his 16-yearold son Ashley and features a home-made manger complete with hay and the Charles, George and Edward models of the cleaner as the Three Wise Men, complete with crowns, and Hetty and Henry as Mary and Joseph with a Henry stuffed toy as baby Jesus.

But Kris was determined to use the shop’s newfound fame to raise money for a good cause and has put up posters asking people to donate to Harp’s Christmas dinner appeal if they enjoyed the display.

Another fun way to raise money for the charity is set for Saturday, when pantomime Cinderelleigh will be held in aid of Harp at the Leigh Community Centre, in Elm Road, with performances at 4pm and 7.30pm.