This festive season the Elim Pentecostal church will be transforming their hall into a secret cinema fundraiser for Wimbledon food bank.
They will be holding movie days where you can come and watch Christmas classics, enjoy a family day out at the Christmas fair, and they will even have their own Father Christmas!
The showings started on Wednesday and will continue until 22 December.
For just £5 per person you can enjoy a movie with your community, and this small donation will include popcorn and a soft drink.
The fundraiser is the first of its kind for the church and aims to support the vital work of the Wimbledon foodbank.
Pastor Jon Featherstone, chair of the foodbank, expresses his worry about the sharp increase of the usage of the foodbank this year.
Since the cut in universal credit in October there has been a 70% increase in usage which has left the food bank struggling to provide necessities.
Pastor Featherstone said: “Our numbers were extremely high in the peak of the pandemic and as such our food levels remain low and a constant challenge to us.
“All the support we receive goes towards providing emergency food parcels for people in the local community facing food poverty.”
In the week running up to Christmas last year Wimbledon food bank saw around 200 families per week.
For many living in poverty, celebrating Christmas is a luxury that they cannot afford.
As well as donating a small fee, the church is asking the community to donate Christmas gifts for children of all ages.
Wimbledon food bank will be distributing food parcels along with these presents to those in need.
Pastor Featherstone hopes that the events will be a success in raising money and spreading Christmas cheer.
He said: “Our heart in providing this event is to serve the community with a wonderful Christmas market and cinema that will leave lasting memories.
“We wanted to provide something that brings everyone together this Christmas and at the same time raise vital funds for the work we continue to do at the foodbank.”
On movie days ticket holders may enter the fair for free at 3:30pm and the movie will start in the secret cinema from 6pm.
Showings include Sing-a-long Frozen, The Grinch, Elf and Polar Express.
View dates and buy tickets here.
Photo credit: Elim Pentecostal church, by Pastor Jon Featherstone
