The Edinburgh-based Vittoria Group are to support Social Bite for the second year running as their La Favorita trailer makes a welcome return to the Sleep in the Park event.
It will be in Princes Street Gardens serving up delicious pizza and donating all proceeds to help meet the fundraising total.
They have also signed up to help provide meals for people affected by homelessness this Christmas time by taking part in Social Bite’s Pay it Forward campaign; displaying small table cards in each of their restaurants to highlight the issue of homelessness in Scotland and inviting their customers to be part of the solution by paying forward meals this festive season.
In addition they will coordinate a massive pizza delivery to people who are currently homeless across Edinburgh throughout the week leading up to Sleep in the Park at the beginning of December; expecting to deliver over 100 pizzas to people living in temporary accommodation, hostels and emergency housing in the capital.
Following the success of Sleep in the Park 2017, this year’s event aims to have 12,000 participants brave the cold and sleep outs this December in four of Scotland’s key cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Over £900,000 has already been raised, with the sign-ups having already broken the half way mark; it is hoped that the final figure will be in excess of £4m.
The funds raised from the event will go towards key interventions to see lives transformed and homelessness ended in Scotland. The Housing First program will see 800 people currently experiencing homelessness across Scotland access mainstream housing with the tailored wrap around support they need. Funds raised from the event will also support two innovative programs to prevent homelessness when people leave the care and prison systems, as well as a host of other initiatives.
Sleep in the Park is taking place in four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow on 8 December to raise money for Social Bite.
Vittoria Group is a family company, established in 1970, which now runs a number of Italian restaurants throughout the city including Taste of Italy, Vittoria on the Walk, Vittoria on the Bridge, La Favorita, up-market fine dining Italian restaurant Divino and the latest addition to the portfolio, Bertie’s Restaurant and Bar which is scheduled to open on 3 December 2018.
The company also operates its La Favorita Delivered branches at Portobello, and Leith. The restaurant is hoping to cement its place as a community focused business in Edinburgh by supporting local charities.
Social Bite is a national Social Enterprise in Scotland. Through a chain of cafes and restaurants the organisation employs over 100 people, around a quarter of whom have struggled with homelessness or barriers to employment. As one of the largest distributors of fresh food to people experiencing homelessness in the UK, they hand out over 100,000 items of food and hot drinks per year.
Tony Crolla, chairman of Vittoria Group added: ‘Social bite is doing a superb job at highlighting an issue that we all must take responsibility for to live together in a civilised society.
‘Josh and his team need help from government policies on employment, education and mental health and others, which result often in homelessness as its outcome. We are delighted to be supporting Sleep In The Park for a second year. It’s a really great charity and we are delighted to be on board again.’
Josh Littlejohn MBE, co-founder of Social Bite, said: ‘I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Vittoria Group for their generosity and support with Sleep in the Park for a second year running. It’s a pleasure to have them on board once again and I am sure they will help to raise a significant sum to add to this year’s total.’
Diners who wish to book a table at Vittoria this December should visit vittoriagroup.co.uk.
To find out more and to register for your nearest Sleep in the Park event visit www.sleepinthepark.co.uk.
To find out more about all the ways Social Bite is working to end homelessness in Scotland, visit social-bite.co.uk.
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