As someone who has been brought up and spent most of my childhood in a war-torn region, I witnessed from a very early age the impact that help and support of others can have on someone's life. Coming from friends, family, and sometimes even from total strangers, no matter how small - acts of kindness and love can change, and have changed the course of life for so many people.

Moving in my early 20s to an entirely different country, with a different culture, language, and cultural norms, it was again the connection with others that helped me jump many hurdles that lied ahead of me in the first few years and it is often still the case 15 years later.

This is why I could not be happier to represent Costar Group as The Story of Christmas Ambassador for 2022.

The Story of Christmas appeal is all about connecting people to support those who need it the most through a broad and diverse range of charitable projects. Full list of supported charities and different projects in 2022 is available here - https://www.socappeal.com/charity/charitable-projects-2022/

I decided to support this cause by bringing people together around one passion we all have in common regardless of where we come from, what we do, and what are our life circumstances - food!

Food is nourishment of the soul and body. It has power to evoke memory and transport you to other places.

With my colleagues from STR and CoStar we will organise a pot luck lunch where everyone from the team will have a chance to show their cooking skills, share their dishes with colleagues and the best recipes will be used to create The Story of Christmas Cookbook.

The Story of Christmas Cookbook intends to bring together our favorite recipes, alongside some of the greatest chefs and philanthropic celebrities who decided to support this cause already - from Judy Dench to Michel Roux Jr, to famed Mandarin Oriental chefs from London, Bangkok and Hong-Kong.

How to participate and support the cause ?

If you are in STR /CoStar offices:

Participate by donating and being part of 13th of July potluck lunch by:

- Submitting a dish

- Tasting a dish

- Taking a photos of the dish that will be part of the cook book

(more information will follow, recommended donation £15 but any amount is welcomed :). If you are submitting a dish please indicate which dish it will be when you are making your donation)

For anyone else:

- Donate any amount you feel comfortable to support the cause

- minimum 20£ If you wish to receive a PDF copy of the cook book. Please ensure that you opt to share your contact details with me so that we can arrange for a copy of the cook book to be sent to you.

- minimum 250£ if you are from any other SOC sponsor company and you wish to include one of your own recipes in the cook book.

- there will be limited availability of printed cook books - more information soon