It may not have been the traditional first date. But a delivery run for welfare charity Gift a year ago set Mark Lewis and Dominique Levy on the road to true love — they have recently married.

“I was going through a really difficult time and he was doing deliveries for Gift,” recalled Mrs Lewis, 30,who works in property.

“Mark is unusual in that he is always thinking of others. We had just met at a Shabbat meal and were getting to know each other. He suggested one way of getting through a difficult time was by giving to other people. I hadn’t thought about it like that.”

Meeting families Gift supports with food and other essentials “was better than any dinner date because we were doing something nice for someone else.

“I really got a chance to see the difference we made. It made me feel good about myself.”

Added Mr Lewis, 33, who works as a gas engineer: “I just thought it would be a meaningful date. The core of a person is what they do with their spare time.

“I think it helped me to show who I was as a person and what I was trying to get out of life.

“We are a selfish generation and that is why people are so depressed. The more you give, the better you feel.”