The latest message and update from the team at Open Doors:
We would like to start the first newsletter of the year by thanking all our friends, donors and volunteers who responded so generously to our Christmas appeal: it raised a significant amount of money which made a big difference to our clients’ Christmas. We were able to give a £15 bonus to each of our destitutes, to deliver extra groceries on Christmas Eve and buy presents for everybody. With the money left we intend to organise a party for our asylum seekers to celebrate the end of the Covid pandemic (whenever that may be!) and the start of the “new Open Doors”.
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
This month we would like to make two appeals of a different kind:
1. we need volunteers to collect goods from supermarkets who kindly donate them to Open Doors to be distributed among our asylum seekers. These volunteers should ideally have a reasonably big car or a van and be strong enough to lift the trays or boxes!
2. the other volunteer opportunity is for someone who has experience and/or ideas for fundraising and applying for grants.
If you are interested and want to know more, please contact us on admin@open-doors.org.uk or ring our mobile number 07986-314490.
NEWS
With the New Year and a new lockdown imposed by the government, we have managed to continue our Thursday drop-in sessions, where we give out food parcels and a little money to our group of destitute clients. The Tuesday ‘clothes shop’ unfortunately is not operating at the moment because of the present lockdown; it will start again when it is safe to do so and the government guidance allows such activities to take place.
The Home Office is now in the process of ‘catching up’ with asylum claims and appeals, and as a result we are expecting a new influx of both asylum seekers and destitute people (asylum seekers whose original claim has been rejected). So we hope you will continue to support our work and to hold us in your prayers.
We wish you every blessing for 2021!
