A FOOTBALL club in Yate has rallied its members to support two local charities this winter.

St Nick’s Football Club based at the Ridings, asked members of their 27 teams to collect new toys and long-life food produce to donate to those in need. The collections began before the second lockdown and due to restrictions surround coronavirus some managers took monetary donations and then shopped for their teams.

Girls development and community officer Lauren White collected all donations and sorted through them to give out to vulnerable families. The club decided to support two local charities; Family Food 4 Free, a free food service to vulnerable and elderly people and Yate and Sodbury toy and activity bank who are organising a Christmas gift appeal to support families who may struggle this year.

Lauren said: “The work that all committee members, coaches and parents have put in over the last couple of weeks has been amazing.

“We’ve all pulled together to help our local community in these tough times.”

The club chose Family Food 4 Free and the Christmas Gift Appeal to try and support local families at Christmas and provide them with the gifts and food they would need for an enjoyable festive period

Lauren added: “Recently taking on the new committee role as community officer, I wanted to set the bar high.

“We have donated over 2000 soup pots to the Vintage Bird Cage, £300 worth of Easter eggs to our local emergency services and now providing essential food and gifts for local families.

“As a club we would like to thank everyone who donated food and gifts this time around.”