Your Celtic FC Foundation, Christmas Appeal, raised an incredible £310k this year, a record figure that allowed the spirit of Celtic to touch more lives than ever before.
The largest slice of the funds, £129k, was shared between 645 families with children in Scotland and Ireland.
Five different homeless charities received £54.5k.
Eight children’s charities received £43k.
£20k went to women’s aid charities.
£15k went to three refugee charities.
£10k went to 100 vulnerable elderly people living near Celtic Park, in what remains an impoverished part of the city.
A Christmas meal, gifts and outings for families were provided to those in the Glasgow East Women’s Aid refuge.
The Scottish refugee Council, which supports over 650 families, said, “The support of Celtic FC Foundation has helped hundreds of vulnerable families at a time of real need.
“In a single day, our advisors will support people who have become homeless, help parents who have no winter clothes for their children, and assist vulnerable families who are struggling through a complex legal system. The need for our services is greater than ever, and this winter we will struggle to support so many families without help.”
Glasgow City Mission provide a hot meal to an average of 130 men and women each night, and offer a safe space in their day. The ‘Mission said, “This wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of organisations such as Celtic FC Foundation. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all of your supporters who have contributed to the Christmas Appeal.”
Loaves and Fishes provide hot meals at a café in Glasgow and foodbank services in Glasgow and East Kilbride. “Through the provision of the meals that we offer at the Oasis Cafe, we try to make people feel welcome and respected. They’re given a two-course meal and an opportunity to sit at a table with each other and enjoy their dinner in a way that most of us take for granted.
“This is a truly vital lifeline to those who are out there with little or no access to food.”
Jim White, Secretary of The Wayside Club, which provides daily support advice and comfort to Glasgow’s homeless, said: “We owe a great deal of gratitude over the years to Celtic FC Foundation and especially their Christmas Appeal, which has helped so many individuals that come to our door each night, looking for clean clothes and a hot meal.”
The Invisibles provide sleeping bags, clothing and footwear to those living rough. They encounter people wet, freezing and in need of a change of clothes. Dermot Hill said, “The backing we receive through the Foundation’s Christmas Appeal plays a vital role in ensuring that we stay well stocked throughout this very difficult period.”
The Glasgow Night Shelter supports asylum seekers who cannot access statutory homelessness services due to their immigration status. Foundation support allowed them to extend their opening hours over the festive period. The Refugee Survival Trust were helped to provide bus passes, which allows people to build friendships.
The Elpis Centre, who provide for homeless young women and Spirit Aid similarly received support. For some kids, as well as toys, winter coats, wellies, shoes and school uniforms were provided.
This list goes on, literally for pages. If you stopped to put money in a bucket, bid at an auction, raised sponsorship at a sleep out, bought a candle for Light Up the Clover, or participated in this work in any way, you will never know the full impact you have made.
It is hard to get your head around big numbers, but £310k is a phenomenal figure. It compares to anything achieved by any football club in the world. Through this work, Celtic fans are changing the world in a structured way. The Foundation are careful with your money, its impact is measured and subsequent support is earned.
We live in a world that is very different from 1887, when Brother Walfrid and his parishioners decided that “a football club will be formed for the maintenance of dinner tables for the children and unemployed.” Then, the overwhelming majority of our community lived in abject poverty. Now, most of us will fill our bellies tomorrow and sleep in a warm home. But if this football club means anything to you, you will feel solidarity with those who fled to this country to seek a better life, those struggling to bring up kids and keep work and other plates spinning, those who are ill, without work, or those, who for a variety of circumstances, are without home, family and hope.
There but for the grace of God… It can take very little to go wrong with our plans for our world to crash down.
The work of the Foundation is our proudest boast. In 2019, more of us got this message and wanted to get involved. We are part of a story that is 132 years old, that stretches back to a generation, some of whom fled famine and persecution but discovered the first step on the ladder involved squalor, hunger and cold. Others have no link whatsoever to that story, but found their way to Celtic through common values.
And guess what? We get to do it all again in 2020; our Celtic work never ends. Thanks to everyone who ‘gets it’, you’re just brilliant.
Take care and have a great Christmas!
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MADRARUA – A QUIE BRILLIAN POST, HANK YOU.
allIwantforChristmsarehe2leersherighf’R’andhenetoth leftof’P’!!!CSC
Dafabet: Scott Brown’s best Celtic XI during his time at the club
160,071 views•Jan 25, 2017
AH CANNY EVEN GET IN THE TEAM MASEL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrT4JmYn-SU
Hi Bhoys
Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope you all have a day that you enjoy as best you can.
Park Road 67 always a pleasure never a chore.
Big Jimmy love you to bits 😂😂😂
Fairhill Bhoy hope your sister is doing well have a great day wi the grandweans.
The rest of you
KEEP THE FAITH
Some great memories on here today- HT, MadraRua, St Stivs and the genius that is Matt and many others.
Wesotych Swiat to our Polish Friends ( still dreaming of a date in May).
TEST.
SCOTT BROON GOING TO RANGERS. SAYS BIG FAT JOBBY FACE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz9cEpSkYXA
MADRARUA on 25TH DECEMBER 2019 9:24 AM
Just wonderful.
NORRIEM
BBC ALBA has a 3 part documentary starting tonight at 20.30 which looks at priest training in the Scots College in Rome. Based on an interview with the maker it is a fair look at the difficulties and joys of a seven year journey to the priesthood. I will be recording it to watch later.
Best wishes to everyone for Christmas, 26th, 29th and New Year and a well deserved break for our team and their staff in January.
Jobo- Matt Stewart left a note for you the other day re keyboards
MADRARUA
Fantastic read!
Thank you!
HAMILTONTIM
Great to see you posting! Best wishes to you and THE MINX!
Don’t be strangers!
Chris Sutton The Ultimate Wind Up Merchant Of Sevco THUG LIFE !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJcfvzMeEXk
Best Christmas wishes to PAUL67 and all CQN’ers everywhere.
Prayers said too for our friends in need and those who have lost loved ones.
BIG JIMMY, PADDYMACOZ, ST STIVS, God bless and take care.
My friends,
What a beautiful place CQN is at the moment. Back to its very best with warmth, compassion and togetherness.
Truely there is more that unites us than divides us.
My thoughts and prayers are with all and especially those less fortunate than ourselves.
A very happy Christmas to all and thank you Paul 67 for providing us with such an uplifting blog today.
Merry Christmas CQN, been wishing you all the same for quite a few years now.
Hopefully we all will be for a long time.
Best of luck to Paddy with his triple by pass and anyone else that is going through a bad time.
HAIL HAIL FRIENDS. 🎄🎄🎄🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🍀🍀🍀
Wishing Paul67, all the players and staff at Celtic FC, and all who post or just lurk on this site a Peaceful, Joyous and Healthy Christmas to you and your family!
Hail Hail and God Bless,
TB&F. 😊
I somehow missed MadraRua’s post first time around, saw the plaudits it was receiving & scrolled back.
Well worth my time, absolutely beautiful.
MadraRua you should post a lot more often.
Celtic team of the decade revealed as French connection heads star-studded Hoops side
The decade started with Tony Mowbray and ended with a Treble treble but who makes it into the ultimate XI?
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ByGabriel McKay
06:00, 25 DEC 2019
SPORT
Even by their standards, the 2010s have been a ludicrously successful decade for Celtic.
Go back 10 years and you’d find a club floundering under Tony Mowbray, the nadir coming in March 2010 as his side were thrashed 4-0 by St Mirren.
The Englishman was replaced by Neil Lennon after that result and 10 years on the same man is in the hotseat, though that doesn’t tell the story of the intervening years.
Eight league titles in a row, the domestic treble for the last three seasons on the spin and beating Barcelona are just some of the highlights Celtic fans have experienced since January 2010 but who would make it into their ultimate XI?
It’s not an easy choice, and some omissions will prove controversial, but here’s what we reckon is the absolute best Celtic team of the 2010s.
GK – Fraser Forster
Craig Gordon revived his career at Celtic Park, winning five titles and being named SWFA Player of the Year in 2015.
Really though, there can be only one man between the sticks.
Forster first joined the Hoops in August 2010, with the big goalkeeper arriving on a loan deal from Newcastle United. He played all but two league matches in his first season as Celtic finished runners-up in the league and he helped Neil Lennon’s side to the title in a loan spell the following season.
A permanent deal duly followed and it was the 2012-13 season, in particular that season’s Champions League campaign, which really cemented Forster as a Parkhead hero.
He was imperious in the famous 2-1 win over Barcelona, earning the nickname La Gran Muralla or ‘The Great Wall’ from the Spanish press, and impressed domestically too as he won save of the season for his stop on Dundee’s Gary Harkins.
After three league titles in a row he moved on to Southampton for a fee of £10million but Forster made a hero’s return in the summer.
His performance in the Betfred Cup final cemented his status as Forster kept Rangers at bay and helped Celtic to a 10th domestic trophy on the spin.
RB – Mikael Lustig
Celtic’s Mikael Lustig dons a police hat as they celebrate the third goal
(Image: SNS)
Lustig may not have been at his best in his final season with Celtic but that shouldn’t erase the achievements of a player who won eight league titles in a row.
The Swede joined in December 2012 and quickly established himself as a cult hero.
Antics like stealing a policeman’s hat in the celebrations of a goal against Rangers or checking for Jamie Murphy in his back pocket endeared him to the fans but so did his solid displays on the right of the defence.
In total Lustig played 273 games for Celtic and won 16 major trophies, making him a shoo-in for the team of the decade.
CB – Kris Ajer
(Image: SNS Group)
Dedryck Boyata has a good claim for one of the centre-back spots, and Efe Ambrose would surely be the people’s choice, but even at this early stage in his career it’s Ajer who gets the nod.
Signed in 2016 as a midfielder, the Norwegian was converted into a centre-back by Brendan Rodgers and sent on loan to Kilmarnock to cut his teeth.
After impressing in Ayrshire he began to get more regular game time in the 2017-18 season and has gone on to be an automatic pick at the back.
Tall, strong and good on the ball, Ajer’s loping runs out from the back have become a familiar sight at Celtic Park and he’s even filled in ably at right-back this season.
What really has him on the way to becoming a favourite though is his passion – just look at the way he celebrated a goal-line clearance in a 2-1 win over Rangers last season.
So assured is he it’s easy to forget that Ajer is still only 21, and if he continues his development he’ll surely join the list of Celtic stars who have moved to England for big money.
CB – Virgil van Dijk
Celtic have been hugely successful in bringing in young players from abroad and selling them to England and Van Dijk represents their biggest success story.
Celtic paid just £2.6m to sign a 21-year-old Van Dijk from Groningen which must go down as one of the biggest bargains in modern football history.
Fans knew they had a gem on their hands after just a few months of watching the Dutchman. He had pace, he had skill and he wasn’t afraid of a physical battle.
Van Dijk was named in the PFA Team of the Season after winning the title in 2013-14 and missed out on Player of the Year to team-mate Kris Commons.
The following year he showed another facet to his game as his aerial ability and free-kick prowess saw him score 10 goals in all competitions.
Van Dijk eventually began to catch the eye of Premier League clubs and on transfer deadline day in 2015 he completed a £13m move to Southampton.
Four-and-a-half years on and with a £75m move to Liverpool behind him Van Dijk is widely considered to be the best defender in the world and came second in this year’s Ballon d’Or vote.
That world record transfer to Anfield also netted Celtic 10 per cent thanks to a sell-on fee included in his move to Southampton, reinforcing Van Dijk’s signing as a transfer masterstroke.
LB – Kieran Tierney
(Image: SNS Group)
It’s not often a player moves on with – almost – universal good wishes, but Tierney was so beloved by the Celtic support there was very little anger about his £25m move to Arsenal.
Given his debut by Ronny Deila in 2015 at the age of just 17, ‘KT’ quickly made the left-back slot his own.
A boyhood Celtic fan, Tierney rebuffed Premier League interest to stay with the club, signing a five-year contract in 2016.
Sound defensively and capable of delivering a wicked cross, Tierney has also shown himself to be capable of shooting from distance as exemplified by a 40 yard screamer against Kilmarnock in 2017.
A Scotland international, the defender won eight major trophies before making the move to England – and he’s still only 22.
Injuries hampered his final year at Celtic, not to mention his early months at Arsenal, but there’s no doubt Tierney would be welcomed back with open arms.
CM – Scott Brown
Brown is loving life at Celtic
(Image: SNS Group)
What more can be said about Scott Brown, the snarling, sprinting ever-present in the Celtic midfield?
There are no words to truly convey what the Hoops captain is, he is simply Scott Brown. He’s bald, tattooed honey badger snapping into tackles, laughing in the face of opposition rage and generally bending Scottish football to his will through sheer force of his own Scott Brownyness.
Now a veteran, Brown is the epitome of the player you can’t stand in opposition but would love in your team – even if you’d never admit it.
The 34-year-old has 10 major trophies to his name since joining in 2007 but even that doesn’t quite sum up his influence.
Tough, uncompromising, full of s***housery, perhaps not the best technically but always entertaining – Celtic fans like to claim their skipper “runs Scottish football” but in many ways he is Scottish football.
CM – Victor Wanyama
(Image: SNS)
Another transfer success story, Wanyama joined for £900k and was sold to Southampton for £12.5m.
In between he became a juggernaut in the Celtic midfield, going box-to-box and proving equally as adept at either end.
Wanyama scored the first goal in that win over Barcelona and he didn’t look out of place against the likes of Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, nor against Paul Pogba and Andrea Pirlo in the knockout rounds.
He spent just two seasons in Glasgow before making the move to England, eventually becoming a key man for Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur, but Celtic fans were clamouring for his return in the summer.
To paraphrase the man himself, they had Wanyama and he was very good. They enjoyed him.
CM – Callum McGregor
(Image: REUTERS)
There is no shortage of players who could stake their claim for the final midfield place. Stuart Armstrong, Nir Bitton, Tom Rogic, Joe Ledley and more recently Ryan Christie could all be included and they wouldn’t be out of place.
McGregor gets the nod though, having gone from a target for the boo-boys to arguably the best midfielder in the country.
Brendan Rodgers brought the best out of him and the 26-year-old has never looked back, becoming the first name on the team sheet for both Rodgers and Lennon.
Last season McGregor played more minutes than any other player in world football, affirming his commitment to the cause, but his ability means that he’s almost impossible to leave out.
The midfielder is closing in on 300 games for the club and with 12 trophies to his name already he could go down as a true Celtic legend.
RW – James Forrest
(Image: Garry F McHarg Daily Record)
Another home-grown hero, James Forrest could well spend his entire career with Celtic.
Criticised for a lack of end product early in his career, the winger has hit double figures for goals in each of the last three seasons and always turns up for the big games.
Last season brought a late winner against Rangers at Celtic Park to all but seal an eighth league title in a row, this term he’s already scored away at Lazio and in both legs against Cluj and AIK.
A key figure for all of Celtic’s eight Premiership titles in a row, Forrest could make his 400th appearance for the club this season.
He’s under contract until 2023, and will surely have his sights on cracking the top 10 for appearances.
CF – Moussa Dembele
(Image: SNS Group)
It’s harsh on Leigh Griffiths, who has over 100 Celtic goals since signing in January 2014, but for sheer ability it has to be Dembele leading the line.
Signed for just a development fee from Fulham, the Frenchman hit the ground running in his first season with 32 goals in 49 appearances.
Tall, strong and good with both feet, no sooner had Dembele established himself did Celtic fans begin to worry about losing him.
After two full seasons their fears were realised when Lyon paid close to £20m to take him to Ligue 1, and his impressive form in France has even led to talk of a move to Manchester United.
You can bet Peter Lawwell will have inserted a sell-on clause into any deal, meaning the ‘Dembele Dollars’ could come rolling in again in the near future.
LW – Odsonne Edouard
(Image: Rob Casey/SNS Group)
Ok so he’s playing out of position, but ‘French Eddy’ did occasionally take up a wide role when Dembele was still at the club.
Initially a loan signing from Paris Saint-Germain, Celtic parted with a club record £9m to sign him permanently in the summer of 2018.
Even at that price it looks likely to end up being money well spent, with the Hoops sure to bring in even more when he inevitably moves on.
Technically superb and ice cold in front of goal, Edouard plays like a striker far older than his 21 years.
The French Under-21 international scored twice in last season’s Scottish Cup final and is making a habit of putting Rangers to the sword too.
When he was played through one-on-one with Allan McGregor in the first Old Firm game at Ibrox this season there wasn’t a soul in the ground who expected him to miss, which tells you everything you need to know.
Paul67: Merry Christmas to you and yours and thank you for providing this excellent site for Tims all over the globe to chat and share stories.
Nollaig faoi shéan agus faoi mhaise daoibh go léir agus ádh mór do na Ceiltigh amárach.
Special best wishes to all who are struggling at this time.
Merry Christmas everyone.
6pts from next two games Santa
Madra Rua: Scéal iontach. Mar a deir an Corcaíoch, bí anseo níos mó.
HRVATSKI JIM on 25TH DECEMBER 2019 11:43 AM
MADRARUA on 25TH DECEMBER 2019 9:24 AM
Just wonderful.
NORRIEM
BBC ALBA has a 3 part documentary starting tonight at 20.30 which looks at priest training in the Scots College in Rome. Based on an interview with the maker it is a fair look at the difficulties and joys of a seven year journey to the priesthood. I will be recording it to watch later.
While in Rome for the Lazio game there was a lovely kid from Blantyre in our company, he has just started his journey to becoming a priest, from what he has to study its going to be some journey…… And I thought priests just said mass lol.
Blantyretim knows him well, I hope he makes it.
All my best wishes and prayers go out to all of the CQN fraternity…… Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🎅🤶🌲⛄🇮🇪⚽🥅🍀
madrarua
what a wonderful post on christmas morning, enjoyed by myself and mrs horton.
Well grandkids away for now… 💚🍀💚🍀💚 I wish I had all that energy again. The wee man who is 7 and a ST holder just wants anything to do with Celtic, he got 2 tops signed by the players and he is over the moon, oh and tickets for the Celtic Musical and far too much other stuff.
Now to get a can open and get ready for, I think it’s Browns in City Centre for Chrimbo Dinner.
Then back to someone’s fir a good auld fashioned booze up, sing song and Granda dancing.😂🎤
D. :)
Saint Stivs
Thought Scott Sinclair may have made the team
Ok
He’s on the bench with Kris Commons
Who else makes the bench ???
Hail Hail
Griff must be on the bench…and unlucky not to be in the 11..
If Odsonne makes first 11, so should Ryan Christie ???
Bada – Griff or Hooper ?
What about Joe Ledley ?
Izzy on the bench ?
This is a hard gig picking a top 16 of this decade
God bless the boys and girls of the GB.They maintainthe way Celtic was founded,and how it should be.No Torys no fascists,yes,a club,free for all ,but maintain the ethos.Not this Board but many Boards to come..
3 points and rattle in a few goals mañana
Then a Hunskelping on Sunday please Santa.
We don’t ask for much.
D. :)
Right, time for the Queen’s Speech…..😬
.
Weebobbycollins
Lost for words 😂😂😂 this fine Christmas 🎄
for DD , should he drop bye,
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMmcqtVXkAA-nNT.jpg
Here’s a team from another decade.
Connaghan; Hay Quinn
Dalglish McNeill Connelly
Johnstone Lennox Deans Callaghan Hood
Celtic 3 Hearts 2 December 25 1971
Note that Kenny was playing right half, in place of an injured Bobby Murdoch.
Goals from Jimmy, Dixie and Harry
Could it have been the last time we played on Christmas Day?
Saint Stivs
I will forward to DD and big Jamesgang 👍
NorrieM…no, logged me out and wouldn’t let me back in until I posted something. So, a full stop it was…
Then I couldn’t remember what I was going to say… :o)
We played a friendly v Red Star Belgrade on Boxing Day 85ish….Prosineci and the brilliant Dragan Stojkovic played, think it was 2-2…
!!bada bing!!
Boxing Day Bing?
Is that the day after, Christmas Day?
Greetings from the not so chilly North.
A Happy and Holy Christmas to one and all and may all Celtic fans regardless of creed, colour and political persuasion have a wonderful Festive Season. 🎄🎅🏻🤶🏻🎄🤶🏻🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🤶🏻🎄🤶🏻🎅🏻🎄
CM- last time I checked it was…
Is that not St Stephens day 🤔