May Newsletter
Home Office Application
We have been very busy meeting all the requirements needed to submit our formal application to the Home Office, and are thrilled to announce that with the support of Sponsor Refugees, Reset and Camden Council we have now submitted our application for ‘approval in principle’!
This is an important milestone and brings us so much closer to our goal of welcoming a new family to Camden.
We hope to have a response from the Home Office by the end of May. By then we will already be working with Origin Housing to identify a suitable property in Camden. When we have an address, we will complete our application for final approval from the Home Office, and then we will be matched with a family. All being well, the family could be moving to Camden around the end of the summer or early autumn.
While we await the Home Office response, we will continue to work on fundraising, preparing for the family’s arrival, and recruiting and training volunteers.
Accommodation
It is critical to the success of this project that we secure accommodation for a minimum of 2 years for the family who will be joining our wonderfully diverse community in Camden.
We are delighted that Origin Housing have agreed to make a property available to us. We are working with Origin to identify a suitable property in a location where we can support a family to fully settle into our community.
As soon as the property has been identified and is ready for us, we will be getting to work decorating and furnishing. If you are interested in helping with this, with labour or goods, or can offer short term storage for furniture donations, do please let us know.
Fundraising
To date we have raised an incredible £12,636 through our JustGiving page thanks to wonderful donations from 63 supporters. We cannot thank you all enough for your support for this project. Quite a number of people have donated anonymously so we have not been able to thank you directly. Please know that we are incredibly grateful for your support. We have now reached 84% of our initial £15,000 target. You can keep up to date with our fundraising progress by taking a look at our JustGiving page.
With the ever increasing cost of living in the UK and particularly in London, we anticipate needing to raise additional funds above the initial £15,000 target in order to fully support our family in their endeavours to become independent and self-sufficient members of our community.
When we are ‘matched’ with a family we will know much more about their specific support needs, and will refine our budget and volunteer strategy accordingly.
Events
UPCOMING EVENT : A Mornington Crescent Meander 29 May
Hugh Dennis (our Accommodation Lead) will be taking us on a Mornington Crescent Meander on Sunday 29 May. Hugh regularly leads guided walking tours in and around London and his walks are always entertaining and informative. Further details are here.
This is a fundraising event and we are asking for a donation of just £10 per person.
Places on this walk are limited! To grab your spot please drop us an email : friendlywelcomelondon@gmail.com or let us know using our Contact Us form.
RECENT EVENT : Launch Event: 15 March
We were so pleased to see so many of you at our Launch Event on 15 March. The event was attended by over 50 people, including the Mayor of Camden. It was a wonderful way to launch the project, and we have been overwhelmed by the support shown by so many of you for this project, . We have a short summary of the event and some photographs on our website here: Past Events
Our Team
Please join us in welcoming our new team members:
Our Family Support Team is growing. Sue Summerbell and Sian Davies will be our Family Support Lead and Co-Lead. They bring a wealth of relevant experience and will join Modgala and Anne in defining and delivering the structure that will meet the needs of the family when they arrive in Camden and as they settle in to their new home.
We are also delighted that Stevie Benanty and Maria Serna have joined our Comms and Fundraising team. They have a lot of knowledge, experience and ideas and you will be hearing much more from them in the near future!
Newsletter: 9 May 2022