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Fifteen years since she set up the first ‘Home Alone’ lunch, and after a two-year break due to the pandemic, Gloria Stewart is once again organising a free six-course meal for those who are lonely at Christmas.
The cost of living crisis has caused funding challenges, and the event on December 21 is running at half the usual capacity – but when attendance is normally 500 people, this is still a massive help to those facing loneliness in Sheffield. Gloria, 73, says “I would have liked someone to do something like this for my parents, if I didn’t. I’m just trying to give a little back.”
She was inspired to run the first lunch in 2007, after speaking to a lady in a hospital waiting room who told her she was not looking forward to Christmas. “She had lost a partner, and said nothing was ever the same. She would fill a flask of tea and go to bed until the festive season is over,” Gloria says.
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Gloria also does not like Christmas. She sadly lost her daughter, Jeinelle, in early December 2020, and had previously lost her mum, Lil, on Christmas day. “It was really really hard the year Jeinelle passed,” she said. “But I know she would have wanted me to carry on with it, so we took hampers out to people’s houses.
“I have a lovely family, we’re very close. With a family, you pull together and get through it, but a lot of people out there haven’t got anybody. You have to give them something to look forward to.”
Although many people who attend the lunch are elderly, often having lost their partners, the event is open to any age. “I have had someone come at age 21,” Gloria says. “His mum has passed away, who was his only family. In the end he came along. He came up and cried, and thanked us for asking him along.”
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Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that organising a lunch for hundreds of people, sourcing donations, and finding volunteers was all that one person was capable of, but for Gloria, this isn’t true. She used to give out gloves and flasks to the homeless around Sheffield. “I can’t do that anymore due to funding, but when the money allows, I still go out to nursing homes and take them gifts,” she said. “We used to give them a big hug when it was allowed, just to make them feel that they are cared for. I would do more if I could.”
Gloria, helped by volunteers, makes calls to people on Christmas day and New Year too, if they are cautious of coming to in-person events. Her dedication does not stop there, and she often puts her own money towards the lunch. “One year, I put in £4,000 from my own money – I can’t do that again! But whether it goes well or not, it is from the heart, and I know I have tried,” she said.
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There are around 40 spaces left at this year’s lunch, which will take place at the Niagara Conference centre. To sign up to attend, volunteer, or for information about how to donate, call Gloria on 07476500073, or 01142570460.
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