The local lads behind a newly-founded initiative to “make sure the homeless of Manchester don’t go hungry” have launched a fundraiser to help with their mission of becoming a registered charity.
Cold Hands Warm Heart – the brainchild of co-founders Jamie Lilley, 32, and Daniel Goodier, 30 – was set up as the harsh winter temperatures plummeted across the region around two months ago to make sure that no rough sleepers in Manchester are going hungry or without the basic essentials needed to make it through, and with the aim of offering a personal touch and meeting needs that other organisations in the area do not currently offer.
The pair started the organisation after hearing the tragic story of a 25-year-old man who sadly died earlier this year while sleeping rough in the doorway of an M&S in Manchester city centre.
“[Daniel] called me and said we need to do something to help.” Jamie told The Manc.
They decided to start with a simple, but impactful gesture, and so the very next night, Jamie, Daniel and their friend, Michael Donoghue, all chipped in £30 and went to a local Middleton takeaway to buy some pizzas to hand out to the homeless across the city centre.
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Jamie continued: “We ended up with 23 boxes of pizzas to go and hand out, and we split these in half and they went within 15 minutes of us being there”.
“There must have been around fifty to sixty people sleeping rough [on Market Street]”.
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After identifying that there was more the rough sleepers were in need of, the lads spoke to them and asked what exactly they required, with Jamie adding: “They asked us for pot noodles, coffee, boxers, sanitary towels, gloves, scarfs, sleeping bags, hand-warmers and trainers, and we just knew we couldn’t just walk away, so Daniel and I went back again two days later after collecting donations of [those items].
“Once again though, these items lasted no more that 15 minutes, so we vowed to do more”.
Jamie Lilley
This is when the pair decided to call on the brilliant people of Greater Manchester for support.
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Jamie continued: “We made a page on Facebook, and we now have almost 1,500 people following us within a month [and we are] getting a reach of over 40,000 within the last 28 days too.
“We now have a team of 18 volunteers”.
And from original Middleton-based takeaway Ian Donatello’s – which has donated 15 pizzas each the lads go out and has even agreed to pay for a storage unit to store all the products bought – to a number of local small businesses and even “some big investors such as McVities, Howden’s and Chubb”, Jamie and Daniel have been blown away by the “amazing support” from the local community so far.
But there’s a significant hurdle they need to get over to be able to expand further.
Jamie said: “Nearly every company I’ve spoken to wants to help… but once I get five minutes into the call, they ask for my charity number, which at the moment we do not have, and that’s why we’re trying to raise the funds to become a charity”.
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To become a registered charity, the pair need to show that they can earn £5,000 in a year period to prove that they are a fundraising organisation, and so, they have since set up a JustGiving page in an attempt to hit that target.
Over 100 people have already donated to the fundraiser to clock up £2,400 and counting.
“I feel like we’ve got a treasure chest full of gold but no key to open it [and] now the only way we can open that treasure chest would be to get that charity number and once we do, we will then be able to use the funding to help bring so much more”.
Jamie Lilley
Jamie Lilley
Word of the vital work being carried out by Cold Hands Warm Heart has spread far beyond Manchester too, and it’s given Jamie and Daniel a clear vision for the future of the initiative.
“I feel the main goal that we are working towards is just to try and feed as many as we can,” Jamie added.
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“We’ve already had some interest from people in Dublin and in London who are wanting to do the same and use our organisation name, so not only would Cold Hands Warm Heart be feeding the homeless of Manchester, we would also be feeding the homeless of Dublin and London.
“Eventually, will be looking at getting more teams in place to cover the likes of Liverpool, Birmingham Nottingham and all over the UK”.
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If you would like to support Cold Hands Warm Heart for the future, and join in Jamie and Daniel’s fight to becoming a registered charity, all donations can be made via the JustGiving page here.
Every penny counts.
Trending
Donny Osmond books biggest-ever Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Iconic American singer and actor Donny Osmond has announced his biggest-ever Manchester concert as part of his upcoming ‘VIVA UK’ tour dates.
Bringing his famous Las Vegas residency show to Great Britain, where he has always had a fervent following, the younger Osmond brother will be making a venue debut over six decades into his career.
Famously part of the musical family who not only sang together but also saw multiple TV shows created in their name – including his very own spin-off, Donny and Marie – he’s been around longer than most in showbiz, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Confirming a whole new run of live dates across the country, Donny Osmond will be returning to Manchester early next year.
Writing on social media, the veteran entertainer said: “I’m so pleased to finally share the official 2027 UK tour dates with you.
“It always means so much to return to the UK – the audiences there have given me some of the most unforgettable moments of my career.”
As for here in our city, he last played Manchester back just a few short years ago at the AO Arena, selling out the 20,000-seater space on 29 November 2023.
Now, though, he’s upgrading to approximately 23k this time, with die-hard fans being encouraged to download his very own ‘Donny App’ to secure the earliest possible access.
Set to play Co-op Live for the very first time, we’d expect this one to sell equally well; you can see the rest of the shows listed so far down below.
Donny Osmond VIVA UK live tour dates 2027
We’ve highlighted all the Northern dates for you:
Wed, 20 Jan – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Thurs, 21 Jan – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
Sat, 23 Jan – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Sun, 24 Jan 24 – Manchester, Co-op Live
Tue, 26 Jan 26 – Hull, Connexin Live
Wed, 27 Jan 27 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
Fri, 29 Jan 29 – Leeds, first direct arena
Sat, 30 Jan 30 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
Mon, 1 Feb – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Wed, 3 Feb – Bournemouth BIC
Friday and Saturday, 5-6 February – London, Eventim Apollo
JUST ANNOUNCED: Donny Osmond Sunday 24 January 2027
Bringing the glamour, high-energy & excitement of his Las Vegas show. https://t.co/Y2sSdg01FV @coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 10:00 Wednesday 20 May General Sale: 10:00 Friday 22 May pic.twitter.com/i4v2ff7suA
Early access tickets for Donny Osmond’s VIVA UK tour will be available both via the app and the venue’s official Co-op membership, with the presale window opening at 10am on Wednesday, 20 May.
Meanwhile, general admission tickets will go live at the same time the following Friday (22 May), with VIP and hospitaity packages also on offer.
Noel Gallagher delivers update on Oasis Live ’25 reunion documentary
Danny Jones
In true Noel Gallagher fashion, the legendary Manchester musician has delivered an impromptu update on the upcoming Oasis reunion documentary in the middle of an off-the-cuff radio interview.
The elder Gallagher brother is no stranger to hopping on the airwaves, especially when it comes to sports and football, specifically, so plenty may have already been anticipating him giving his two cents following his much-loved Manchester City’s latest FA Cup win.
However, many definitely weren’t expecting him to casually throw in some new details about the highly anticipated Live ’25 tour documentary.
Swapping his semi-regular soapbox on talkSPORT for BBC Radio 5 Live‘s coverage this time, Noel revealed that neither he nor Liam Gallagher has yet to even seen the documentary movie.
NOEL GALLAGHER IS CURRENTLY MIXING THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE NEW OASIS DOCUMENTARY- ADMITS HE'S NOT WATCHED IT YETpic.twitter.com/tdoODokj7k
— Oasis World Fan Page (@oasisworld_) May 18, 2026
Yes, believe it or not, the Manc brothers and all-around music icons, who reunited after 15 years to give us the Live ’25 world tour last summer, haven’t actually watched the edit for the latest Oasis film.
Noting that Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and the rest of his co-directors and producers are still “tweaking” the final cut before showing it to the duo.
They are, famously, a rather opinionated pair, in fairness.
However, as you can hear straight from the horse’s mouth, it’s being described as “an emotional journey” primarily just from a fan perspective, noting that the focus is more on the people who kept this music and love for Oasis alive for all these years.
This short interview clip obviously comes after the news of a release date finally being announced, with details around the two different theatrical and digital launches now confirmed.
As Noel goes on to add, he has no worry about the audio side of things, as he is currently helping mix the live recordings of the tracks in the studio – nice to hear he is still having plenty of direct involvement.
Put simply, he says, “It’s all sounding great”, and he’s looking forward to watching it all back after the blur of experiencing it first-hand.
We’re sure Liam will only echo those sentiments; it remains unclear how much input he’s had in terms of post-production, but we’re sure he’ll have plenty of thoughts as always.
How many of you are planning to go and see it in cinemas, or are you happy waiting until it comes onto streaming platforms?
Emily Sergeant -
8th March 2021 
