Feed Up Warm Up had a surprise visit from a former Premier League and England goalkeeper, who dropped off some supplies to the charity yesterday evening.
David James, who racked up more than 570 Premier League appearances for clubs such as Liverpool, West Ham and Manchester City, surprised everyone at FUWU’s Hitchin drop–off yesterday.
The former England No.1, who lives in the Stevenage area, had been in contact with North Hertfordshire District Council about how he could help our community during the coronavirus crisis.
NHDC then passed James on to FUWU founder Shane Cole, who did not believe it was real at first.
Shane said: “I’m still shell-shocked by it all to be honest, especially as I’m a West Ham fan!
“When he first got in touch with me, I had no idea it was the real David James. He was using a Gmail account and I thought: ‘Why would the real David James use a Gmail account?’
“So, I assumed it was just someone with the same name, or pulling a prank and didn’t think much of it.”
“Then, he messaged me again on WhatsApp and I saw the picture and thought wow, this is real.
Shane described him as a lovely, humble man who just wanted to help out his community and stay out of the limelight.
He said: “David came by and dropped off some food and tins and spent more than an hour with us just chatting. He also said he hopes he can make this a more regular thing, and everyone from our donors to our clients would love to see him again.
“Because of the COVID–19 situation, donations have really dropped so we’re hoping that things like this can give us a boost. It’s good this happened to a small charity such as ours.
“Anything the public can spare at this time is gratefully received, as our workload has tripled since this crisis began.”
Feed Up Warm Up are still accepting monetary and food donations at this time, as well as tents and sleeping bags, but clothes donations have had to be postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.
You can get in touch with the charity at info@feedupwarmup.co.uk, or by searching ‘Feed Up Warm Up’ on Facebook.
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