Lost shopping leads to outpouring of help for young family

Wednesday 08 December 2021

A young family in need was “blown away” by the kindness of the public after their call to help find a £20 missing bag of shopping led to an outpouring of generosity.

Daniel Allen (21) – new dad to 14-week-old Ava – was offered a food hamper, wine, a takeaway, and £200 to see his family through Christmas, among other gifts after calling for a “good Samaritan” on Facebook.

“As you know, times are very hard in Jersey (for all of us), no matter how old you are. My fiancé gave birth to our first child, a daughter, 12 weeks ago,” he explained in his post.

Pictured: Daniel's post on Facebook.

“Today [we] were running low on food supplies so I went and grabbed what we needed from the Co-op at Charing Cross and filled two bags, then started walking. The only place I remember being with the bags was at the Finance Centre in town where I sat to have a breather and at Liberation Station or on the Number 1 bus somewhere.

“I please beg someone if you have found it, a £20 shop may not seem like a lot to you, but for us (especially with kids) that can almost do a full week’s meals.

“I hope someone has found it for us and left it in a sanitary condition rather than eating.”

Hundreds of islanders ended up engaging with the post, offering their best wishes to the family, and even cash donations – but some went the extra mile.

Christina Teixeira from Trinity’s Co-op En Route arranged for a donation of four bags of shopping, and delivering it to the young family’s door.

Pictured: The Co-op's donation.

Local nutrition charity Caring Cooks donated a Christmas hamper.

Michael Gilbraith from the Bay of Bengal restaurant donated an “amazing” takeaway and bottle of rosé wine, as well as an “amazing and generous” donation of £200.

Daniel said he never expected to receive “a penny from anyone” when he made his post, but, despite his reluctance, many islanders insisted that he accepted their offers of help.

Pictured: The takeaway from the Bay of Bengal.

“I am absolutely blown away by the response received by everyone,” Daniel told Express.

“It honestly just shows how strong our community is.

“Despite the challenges over covid and others being in financial difficulty… they still reached out to help our family in a time of need, which means the world.”

Pictured top: Dan Allen, with baby Ava and fiancé Tegan.