OVER 200 people who are vulnerable or isolated this Christmas were welcomed to Coventry Building Society for a festive celebration.
The day was part of One Day at Christmas which was hosted at eight venues across the country with over 2,000 guests attending.
Guests from organisations including Sky Blues in the Community, Saheli Group, Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire, Grapevine and Voluntary Action Coventry.
Guests had a three course Christmas lunch with games, live entertainment and dancing and an appearance from Father Christmas.
Coventry’s One Day at Christmas was supported by over 40 volunteers.
Producer Paul, from Hits Radio West Midlands’ breakfast show, supported the festive party as host for the day.
Coventry and Warwickshire Gospel Choir kicked off the entertainment with Charlie Healy, who reached the finals of X Factor in 2011.
Peter Alexander, who lives just outside Coventry, Bero Bhandal, from Binley, and Chris Roddis, from Earlsdon, were guests on the day.
Bero said: “My favourite part of the day was joining in with the games, especially the bingo, and having a good laugh.
“If you’re at home and lonely, events like this give you the chance to meet other people, and they cheer everybody up too.
“Thank you to the Arena for inviting us.”
Peter added: “I came to the event to meet with my friends and have a good time.
“Events like this mean a lot. Everyone has got a story to tell; some happy and some not so happy.
“The spread of food and drink was great, and it’s good there was some dancing at the end to get the weight off.”
Chris said: “This was a chance to celebrate Christmas at what is not an easy time of year for everyone. It has been lovely to get together. It’s amazing what they have done to put the event on. It’s absolutely fantastic.”
Paul Michael, managing director at Coventry Building Society Arena, said: “When we set out organising this event, we had a goal to bring people together from communities all across Coventry and that is what we have been able to achieve.
“We took part in One Day at Christmas because we believed it was the right thing to do and, in collaboration with our event partners, we pulled out all the stops to make the day as special as possible.
“We hope everyone enjoyed the day. It was a joy to see so many smiling and happy faces, and we would like to wish all of the guests a Happy Christmas.”
