Oxford. Leeds.  Liverpool.  Manchester. London.   Who is spreading love? Who is changing the world on our doorstep? Is it al the volunteers from the London Christmas Dinner in the above photo?   Is it the vice Chancellor of Oxford University  who  supports The Christmas Dinner for care leavers in Oxford (pic on left) or the owners of the majestic Queens Hotel  in Leeds who have given all the food for The Leeds Christmas dinner for Care Leavers? (pic of team on right)    Or is it Subrina Kidd, a stylist to  the stars, who  organized for  major stylists and hair dressers to do full makeovers at The Hackney Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day.   Or is it Emma Lewis at  University of Manchester organizing  all the presents (with outstanding initiatives)  for every young adult attending The Manchester Care Leavers Christmas Dinner  (team pic below).     Is it the chef from a Michelin starred restaurant in Liverpool  giving his services  free?     Or maybe it’s the chef from a Michelin starred restaurant  in charge of the kitchen at the Oxford Christmas Dinner giving his services free? Yes we have two chefs from Michelin star restaurants.     Maybe it is Baileys Turkey farm in Cheshire  who’ve given Manchester Christmas Dinner the organic free free-range turkeys? Or could it be Rahila Hussain  the chef for Leeds Christmas Dinner the  winning cook  of ITV’s Food Glorious Food?  Or is it Mel from national TV show Bake Off who has made a very special unique video message for all the care Leavers?    Maybe it’s the hundreds of people across the country and some in other parts of the world  who’ve given presents via the various Amazon Wish-lists which have been created for each area?  Maybe it’s Arcola Theatre who have given free space for the organising team in London?  And maybe it’s the hundreds of people around the country who helped fund raise last year so that each Christmas dinner could have a contingency of £5,000.   These are just a handful of examples. Take a look at The Facebook Pages of the dinners: Oxford London Leeds and Manchester. Each steering group in each area have met  since October to make one Christmas Day extremely special for the care leavers aged between 18 to 25 many of whom would be alone on that day.  The Liverpool team in the photo on the left have been meeting since September.

Nobody is paid for this.  There is no boss. There is no Christmas Dinner building to maintain. No office space.  We have incredibly high standards.   The Seven Goals of The Christmas Dinner explains exactly how we do The Christmas Dinner.    This is the truest organizational system I’ve ever been involved in.  It has grown naturally and purely through the people of each steering group.   The Christmas Dinner is not just good for the care leavers who will enjoy Christmas Day. This is good for the communities in Britain.    I have heard social workers say it has revived their belief in what they do.  I am instigator of all these Christmas Dinner.   I am sure the various groups won’t mind me saying that the spirit of the Chrisams Dinner is  embodied in the spirit of two women.   They are stylist  actoress Sally Lyndsay. (pic on right) and Stylist Subrina Kidd in the picture below.    Both Sally and Subrina  have experience of the care system in very different ways.     Both are creative.  Both are kind. Both do what they say they will do.   Both are connected and  committed  There is no element i’ve described in them  that is not in each member of all the Christmas dinner teams. That is why I choose them both as symbolic of The Christmas Dinner.

If you want to change the world change the process of change.

lemn@thechristmasdinner.org.uk.