Working with the Chelsea Methodist Church, which supports those in need at their Community Drop-In Centre on nearby King’s Road, members of staff from Chelsea and Levy gave up their time to help set up the Champions Suite at Stamford Bridge for the festive occasion as well as cleaning the venue and serving the traditional three-course Christmas lunch, which was prepared by Levy’s professional chefs.

There were additional contributions from many of the club’s and Levy’s partners, who played an important role in setting up the venue and decorations, donating the restaurant-quality ingredients for the meal, or providing a range of items – from warm clothing to sanitary products – which were included in gift bags handed out to every person in attendance. We say a special thanks to all partners and suppliers, especially Nike who provided the largest donation of gift items this year.

Levy head of hospitality and event catering Dawid Martinkovic, who helped plan and run the event, wished to thank everyone who played their part in this year’s edition of the annual Christmas lunch.

‘First of all, I’d like to say thank you to my team at Levy for volunteering to work and support this event,’ he said. ‘Also thank you to those from Chelsea, every person who donated their time and supported us, as well as the partners and sponsors. Without all of them we couldn’t deliver this event. They all brought something different, but we appreciate every contribution, no matter how small.

‘I have to say it’s a very emotional moment. It’s a moment where you really appreciate seeing so many happy faces around the room, on people you know are having a very difficult time but are able to forget their problems and enjoy themselves, even if it’s only for a day. So it’s an absolute pleasure for me and my team to deliver this event.’

Chelsea scouting operations manager Samantha Powell, who volunteered to serve food and drinks at the lunch, added: ‘It was lovely to see so many staff from different areas of Chelsea and Levy, whether they work at Stamford Bridge, Cobham or Kingsmeadow, giving up their time to try and help people have a happy Christmas.

‘For a lot of the people we were serving it was their only chance to have a Christmas meal this year, or any Christmas at all, so to be able to bring them to Stamford Bridge for it is brilliant and I hope they enjoyed it.’

The event has been running for many years, but this is only the second time it has been held at Stamford Bridge, with the switch to the Champions Suite for 2022 meaning we can now host 250 people for the meal, having previously been restricted to 30 at the Chelsea Methodist Church hall.

That is in addition to a further 100 meals provided by Levy to be taken away, for those unable to attend.

Reverend Faith from the Chelsea Methodist Church explained why the efforts of those at Chelsea and Levy are so appreciated, especially this year when so many people are being forced to ask for help at the Community Drop-In Centre due to the cost of living crisis.

‘We are invited here every year which is an amazing opportunity for our volunteers. Most of them are homeless and to come here and sit down for a prepared meal is a delight,’ she said. ‘We’re very grateful to the team here for making this happen, so thank you very much to everyone at Chelsea.

‘We have seen a big increase in the number of people who are homeless and asking for help this year. Just the day before the meal we had about 80 people coming in and that is a big, big number.

‘Some people have never needed to come to a place like us but now they find themselves in difficult places and they have to, because they need to shower or they need to do laundry and they can’t afford that. Some just want to come and hang out in the church because they have no home or they can’t afford heating. So providing them that warm space and a welcoming spirit, I think that’s lifting their spirits, especially at Christmas.’