Boxer and business owner give up evening to help Middleton charity give to homeless

A local professional boxer and a local business owner recently gave up their evening to help Middleton charity Cold Hands Warm Hearts.

Boxer Jack Kilgannon, 26, and his uncle, Ian Kilgannon, who runs Ian's Donatello's, joined volunteers in distributing items to those on the streets of Manchester city centre on 22 November.

Cold Hands Warm Hearts, which became registered as a charity last month, aims to make sure no rough sleepers or homeless in Manchester go hungry or without the essentials. Volunteers travel into the city centre regularly to give out food, drinks, clothing and sleeping bags.
 

Read more: Middleton group Cold Hands Warm Hearts awarded charitable statusPublished: 20 November 2021

 

Ian has been a long-time supporter of the group, having supplied many pizzas for Cold Hands Warm Hearts since its inception and paying for a storage unit.

He said: "I had the privilege of going out in Manchester with the absolutely amazing people from Cold Hands Warm Hearts and it absolutely broke me to see people literally freezing cold and shivering when they came to us for food, drinks, hats, coats, gloves etc.

"We quickly ran out of everything; to have to turn people away and say that we had run out of things is heartbreaking.

"I'm sure that I haven't been the only one over these last couple of days to moan about how cold it has become and to turn the heating up at home or in the car as well as making a hot brew, simple everyday luxuries that we all take for granted.

"If you have any warm clothes that you're not going to wear again that are in a reusable condition and clean. then please bring them into one of our shops for us to pass onto the team at Cold Hands Warm Hearts

"The items most needed at the moment are jumpers, hoodies, coats, gloves, hats, scarves, new warm socks and new underwear.

"Please let's help those who really do need it in these cold dark months ahead."

Cold Hands Warm Hearts was set up earlier this year by Jamie Lilley and Daniel Goodier, both of Middleton, after hearing about the tragic death of a 25-year-old man who died when sleeping rough in Manchester city centre earlier this year.

The next day, they and another friend handed out 23 boxes of pizza within 15-minutes, returning two days later with donations of coats, cold drinks, a five-litre flask of a hot drink, plus hot food from Middleton takeaways.
 

Read more: Middleton men start new initiative to help homeless with ambition of becoming registered charityPublished: 22 March 2021

Cold Hands Warm Hearts also has a Facebook page where volunteers provide regular updates and anyone wishing to help can get in touch.