Army of Kindness volunteers receive award from Mayor of Rochdale

Volunteers from the Army of Kindness, a hot food kitchen serving the Rochdale community since 2016, have been honoured with receiving the Mayor's Award for their service to the community.

The Army of Kindness was nominated for the award by His Majesty’s Deputy Lieutenant Asrar Ul-Haq OBE as he had seen the volunteers delivering an invaluable service to the community over the years.

Run by 25 volunteers, Army of Kindness provides hot meals to people in the community who are facing hardships.

The service also offers a range of other support to their users including a clothing bank, free SIM cards with free data, free haircuts and making referrals to the local authority where needed and signposting to other third-party organisations.

The hot food kitchen was a lifeline to many throughout the Covid pandemic period when over 700 meals were delivered per week to people at their home addresses. It has remained a vital lifeline to many within the Rochdale borough, particularly with the recent cost of living crisis.

AoK serves an excess of 100 people each week: in addition, they deliver hot food to vulnerable people as well as delivering to hostels and homeless providers and referral families too. The hot food kitchen serves rice and curry as its staple, as well as offering pizza and chips to vegetarians and children. Tea and biscuits are also served.

The service is open every Thursday 5pm-6.30 pm at St Andrew's Church to all members of the community that feel they need support.

Each year, the group opens the centre on Christmas Day for people to enjoy Christmas dinner, which is a very joyous event as often these people would spend Christmas alone.

 

 

Senior Group Volunteer Mohammad Sheraz (far right) collected the Mayor's Award on behalf of AoK.

He said: "This award is for all the volunteers past and present who unselfishly give up their time to help those most vulnerable in our town. We appreciate this award and it’s a huge recognition for our volunteers who have been magnificent.

"People are facing severe hardships and difficulties – the cost of living has increased and led families to struggle to put food on the table. Families are having to choose whether to heat or eat to survive.

"We are grateful to our donors who have supported us over the years but increased costs and demand in services are stretching our resources thinly."

Volunteer Arzu Shakeel said: "I am proud to have volunteered with AoK for many years. My friends and I have also taken part in fundraising events such as sponsored walks and fun days to support the soup kitchen.

"I feel it’s important to help those that are struggling. A simple hot meal provides that trust we have with our clients and ensures we can communicate and signpost them to other services they may require.

"I’m grateful for the opportunity that AoK has provided, we are a family unit with people from all walks of life and backgrounds and we simply help each other to help others."

For anyone interested in sponsoring the Army of Kindness soup kitchen, donating food to the service, or volunteering their time – please contact Sheraz: 07940 470 705.