Hibs players lend a hand at Edinburgh North East Foodbank to help with Christmas donations

Hibs players Marijan Čabraja and Jake Doyle-Hayes have lent a hand to the Edinburgh North East Foodbank, assisting with food donations in the lead up to Christmas.

The first-team members visited the facility to help organise and sort doantions, package up and deliver food parcels and meet some of the volunteers who work in the local community in the EH6 and EH7 postcodes. The foodbank becomes increasingly busy during the festive period and with more and more people struggling with the rising cost of living, many are having to rely on support from foodbanks across the country. Linking up with numerous other charities, including the Hibernian Community Foundation, the foodbank operates on a voucher scheme which can be traded for food parcels.

Alison Roxburgh, who manages the foodbank based at the Kirkgate Centre in Leith, hailed Čabraja and Doyle-Hayes for their support, adding: “We’ve supported nearly 5,000 people this year. At Christmas we get a lot of donations from different companies, so it’s great that Jake and Marijan have come down to help sort out the food that’s been donated. Donations are really helpful at this time of year to keep stocks high so we can help people going into the new year. We’ve been working with the Hibernian Community Foundation on their Christmas Appeal and been able to refer some of our clients to them for dinner on Christmas Day. This is hugely important as many don’t have cooking facilities or are isolated, so for them to be able to go along is a huge thing, and it really benefits their mental health.”

Doyle-Hayes said: “Marijan and I came down to help pack some boxes and make up some food parcels for people in the local community. It’s really important all year round, but especially at Christmas, for us to give back to the community. They support us all the time, so we need to give back to them. It’s always nice to help people and to make a difference, so we’re both glad we had the opportunity to do this.”

Jake Doyle-Hayes, left, and Marijan Čabraja with Alison Roxburgh and Lewis Melee of the Hibernian Community Foundation

Hibernian Community Foundation director Daljit Singh added: “It’s important that the Foundation supports initiatives on our doorstep, that do so much for the local community. The Hibs fanbase have always done this, and we’ll make sure it continues this Christmas and throughout winter.”

For more information on the Hibernian Community Foundation Christmas Appeal, and to donate, click here>>>