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Man City captain Ilkay Gündogan buys huge Turkish feast for Manchester charity users

He also wrote a beautiful letter thanking them for their support and inspiration.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 12th June 2023

People have been praising Manchester City’s captain after the footballer paid for local people at a social care charity to have a giant Turkish feast.

Ilkay Gündogan, who acts as an ambassador for Manchester charity Community Integrated Care, surprised over 100 service users with a ginormous takeaway from a local Turkish restaurant this weekend.  

Hoping to commemorate the Champions League final, Gündogan splurged on the foodie feast – spending hundreds so that people associated with the organisation could enjoy his team’s historic match against Inter Milan in style.

He also wrote a heartfelt letter to accompany their meal, thanking them for their support and inspiration to date. “I wanted to write you this letter to let you know that you are a true inspiration for me,” a part of the letter reads.

Image: Community Integrated Care
Image: Community Integrated Care

“Your strength, resilience and zest for life are truly awe-inspiring. The challenges you face on a daily basis require immense courage, and your ability to overcome them is remarkable.

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“I understand that life can be filled with obstacles and uncertainties, but please know that you are not alone.

“The bonds you have formed at Community Integrated Care, the laughter you share, and the support you provide to one another are testaments to the strength and beauty of our community and the human spirit.”

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Image: Ilkay Gündogan / Community Integrated Care

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Gündogan also supplied food and drink to youth club Heßler 06 Gelsenkirchen, where the midfielder first kicked a ball.

This weekend, Manchester City completed the treble after winning their first Champions League trophy.

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Beating Inter 1-0, the Blues had their eyes well and truly focused on glory all night and managed what many had already begun to accept as inevitable.

Central Manchester will be painted sky blue this Monday, 12 June as City celebrate their treble title-winning season with a parade through the city centre.

Featured Image – Ilkay Gundogan (via Instagram)

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Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre

Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.

Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.

A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.

Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.

It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.

Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.

As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.

Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.

The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.

Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.  

Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.

The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.

Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.

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“Help us be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline,” Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity urged in it’s public appeal for donations.

You can help make sure ‘A Bed Every Night’ is a reality for all by donating here.

Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)

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