Stëmm vun der Strooss Launches Fundraiser for Sheltered, Heated Terrace at Social Restaurant

Stëmm vun der Strooss, a Luxembourg non-profit association which supports homeless people and vulnerable members of society, has announced that it is launching its third fundraiser in partnership with the crowdfunding platform Gingo; the aim is to acquire a sheltered and heated terrace for the charity's social restaurant in Luxembourg-Hollerich.

In order to achieve its goal of increasing the capacity of its social restaurant (7 Rue de la Fonderie, Luxembourg-Hollerich), Stëmm vun der Strooss is aiming to raise a sum of €30,000.

The previous two fundraising campaigns enabled the acquisition of a professional oven and the hiring of a part-time cook. For this third campaign, Gast Waltzing,  a renowned Luxembourgish composer, conductor and Grammy winner, is lending his support. A volunteer from the start, Mr Waltzing has made an appeal at the end of a short video (see below), produced by Giovanni Ferrigo, who is also a volunteer with the association.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the social restaurant, like all structures, has had to adapt to new health and safety measures and has therefore been forced to reduce the number of people it takes in. While 300 people came through the association's doors in Luxembourg City before the first lockdown in March 2020, this figure has now fallen to 150. In groups of fifteen, the long-term unemployed, the homeless, young people experiencing social disruption, people dependent on alcohol, drugs and medicines, those with a mental illness and undocumented migrants can sit down and warm up for a moment. After 30 minutes, they have to leave the premises to make way for the next group, who are already queuing outside; it is not uncommon for the waiting time to reach an hour and a half.

Whilst the health crisis has been difficult for the whole population, it has been even more so for the underprivileged and isolated. The need to find some comfort with Stëmm vun der Strooss is growing: the non-profit has been serving an average of more than 140 meals per day, with a peak reached at the beginning of the pandemic with more than 8,968 meals served in March 2020. A total of 55,816 meals were served at the Hollerich social restaurant between March and November 2020.

In response to this precarious situation, the donations collected as part of this new fundraiser will be used to finance the fitting out of the terrace of this social restaurant. Once sheltered and heated, not only will the capacity be increased, but the place will also become warmer, which is even more important in the winter period.

Donations can be made online or via bank transfer to the account of Stëmm vun der Strooss: BCEE LU63 0019 2100 0888 3000. These donatons are tax deductible.