Community church receives Asda grant for 'unbelievable' Christmas Day meal

Colleen Heaney from our Omagh store presented a cheque from the Asda Foundation to help a church host a meal for people who might otherwise be on their own on Christmas Day.

Pastor Tim Shiels and his team of volunteers from Omagh Community Church will serve a Christmas dinner to around 100 needy, isolated and vulnerable people – and the donation of £1,000 will pay for the food and drinks.

Colleen, who's the store's community champion, regularly volunteers at the church and organises the in-store food collection point for them.

Tim called into the store to collect the cheque from Colleen and general store manager Niall Keyes – and to pick up some of the supplies to be used at the meal.

He said: "This event is unbelievable and restores my faith in humanity. Colleen has supported and believed in our group since we started out. She has helped in our drop in centre and food bank and has been a key support for our Christmas event.

"We've always had a fantastic relationship with Asda, and without Asda's support over the years we would struggle to be able to provide this service for our wider community."

Colleen said: "Tim and the group's other volunteers were delighted with the cheque. In my view what they're doing, organising a Christmas Day meal for people who may not otherwise receive one, is brilliant – it's on a different level.

"I've volunteered with the group for three years and they do fantastic work for the local community."