How Sunderland fanzine Roker Report have raised over £58,000 for a soup kitchen this Christmas

The team behind a football fan website in Sunderland have made use of their platform and hard work to help raise over £58,000 for a local charity in just over two weeks.

Roker Report fanzine has supported the Sunderland Soup Kitchen for several years through an annual Christmas fundraiser.

Last year, when supporters were unable to attend matches and people were facing the daunting prospect of a Christmas in lockdown, the fundraiser brought in £32,000.

This was an increase from £19,000 in 2019.

Co-ordinator Andrea Bell, spoke to NationalWorld on behalf of the Soup Kitchen about the fundraiser and what the money will be used for in the coming year.

She said: “It’s been a three year journey with them [Roker Report], we’re like friends now, there is a mutual respect between us.

“The people from Roker Report have come down and helped out at the kitchen and in the warehouse and see what they are buying into, that’s been a wonderful progression.

“This year was different, I just think after the pandemic, last year was so disappointing and I think everyone wanted to inject some possibility into things.

“The guys dropped a seven day plan on me, I didn’t even know what they were doing, they just spent so much time organising fundraisers.

“People have really got behind us, they’ve realised that we didn’t close during the pandemic, we worked all the way through.

“I think everything has come together to make it [the Soup kitchen] a really positive place to donate to as they know it comes in and stays at a local level and they know it helps local people.

“It’s gone from what I like to call a little acorn to this big huge tree now because there’s been so many diverse ways people have helped.

“This year was a target set. We’ve grown to have a budget of around £5,000 for our takeaway service and we based it initially on 10 months.”

Every penny from the fundraiser will be used on food, as Andrea added: “The money raised will only go towards food, and that’s it. But it will be really good food.

“We do home cooked meals, we do mince and dumplings, we use chicken breasts so it’s all good meals.

“People have this impression that you give out gruel, but no it’s all good food and every penny will go on that.

“I don’t think there is enough thanks to give to those who donated because, without them, we wouldn’t be functioning.

“We don’t put big grants in, so people help us. We are grateful beyond grateful, but as I have said before to people, it isn’t just about the money.

“Our work needs recognition, and to show people that better facilities are needed to help those who need a hand up.

“Slowly, this is happening. This year Lee Johnson and Mel Reay have come down, Kevin Ball was here the other day, Gary Bennett has been down.

“It’s all on the right path to getting the work we do on the map.

“This to me is more important than the money. It’s about making change for the better.

“You’ll always find the money from somewhere, but the need for change and making the change is more important I think.”

Gavin Henderson, who is Editor of Roker Report, explained how this year’s fundraiser came together and how the fanzine has supported the work of the soup kitchen.

On the planning for this year’s fundraiser, Gavin said: “I’ll be honest, we left it a bit late - only a few days before did we actually sit down to figure things out!

“It’s been a busy time with Sunderland playing lots of games, so we weren’t as organised as we’d have liked to have been, but I think we got things into shape in time to launch on 1 December.”

As part of the fundraising effort, the team ran a 24 hour Twitter Space and had a range of guests stopping by, from Chief Football Writer of the Times Henry Winter to former Sunderland manager Peter Reid, with plenty of other cult heroes in between.

Gavin continued:  “We ran a Twitter Space for the first time on deadline day in August, and it was a huge success - and after the show we discussed privately about the possibility of doing something a bit mental for the annual fundraiser, and I suggested we could do a 24-hour long marathon.

“I’d forgotten all about it until Rich Speight (my co-editor) reminded me about it... and after many weeks of intense planning and organisation, we were finally able to enjoy it once the actual event came around.

“It was a roaring success and across the 24 hours, we raised around seven thousand pounds for the Soup Kitchen fund - a staggering amount.

“It’s important because the hunger poverty issue in Sunderland isn’t just a problem at Christmas - it’s daily, year round.

“The money we raise will essentially pay for food supplies for the majority of the year, which is a huge weight off Andrea’s shoulders, as you can imagine.”

Gavin described the support the fundraiser has received, and how people from all walks of life have helped out.

He added: “[The support has been] Staggering. We’ve had fans of many clubs, our nearest rivals, Sunderland AFC themselves, journalists and celebrities all joining in to support, spread the message and do their bit.

“Perhaps the last two years have taught people to be kind to their fellow humans - I don’t know. All I know is that people are so unbelievably kind, and the total garnered so far reflects that.

“Other than raising the money, we’ve helped with food services on a number of occasions, have helped with shopping for supplies and with stocking the warehouse, amongst other things.

[The volunteers at the soup kitchen] are such a close team who work so hard, but above all else, they are happy workers with so much love to share.

“I was there on Sunday and for most of the time all you could hear from the kitchen was laughing and singing - it’s clearly just a fun place to be.”

With the end date of the fundraiser being Christmas Eve, there is still time to support the cause and help feed people who are most in need this winter. To donate, visit the Gofundme page.

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