Calais Light

We need to smash £15,000 to meet our NEW MISSION!

JOIN US IN OUR PASSION - giving help, hope and dignity to refugees

We believe we can best help refugees by promoting social inclusion & social integration in the UK. And, as a supporter of Calais Light, you play a critical role in providing help and hope to those who have been displaced by conflict and persecution. Your compassion helps us continue our efforts to improve their day-to-day experience and offer both emotional and practical support on the ground in Calais and the UK.

We are now Gift Aid registered, allowing us to receive an extra 25p to us for every £1 you donate! Please complete the Gift Aid declaration when making your donation - it is greatly appreciated.

If you are able to make a regular donation, please visit www.calaislight.com/donate and learn how to set up a quick and easy payment, that will have a long lasting impact to our charity and the refugees we support.

Calais Light supports refugees through 3 core initiatives

1. Calais Convoys: we are still taking 5 convoys a year to Northern France providing volunteers and providing 'on the ground' support to local NGOs, quickly responding to their needs and shortages and making financial donations to bridge those gaps. We take 'manpower and money, not stuff'

2. #CourtCommerce. Forging partnerships with world-class brands, we source new and essential items to gift to refugees, via pop ups in temporary accommodation or via partner NGOs in France. To date we've raised over £460,000 in brand-new, stylish clothes and essential items for refugees. We want refugees to feel great in their clothes and be able to blend into society. How can you blend in when you always wear mismatched cast offs? We want to give dignity back to the lives of people who have lost their possessions, their families, and their homes.

3. In Clacton in Essex we have 3 teams of Calais Light volunteers teaching refugees English Language skills & conversation practice, 3 times a week, in churches & community premises. This is the first of three planned Befriender Hubs where local people can join in, equipping refugees, who are often isolated & unable to even communicate with each other, with English teaching at all levels as well as friendship. Our FREE lessons aren't like the ones we knew at school - we use TESOL techniques (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) to make our courses accessible & fun to learn. We hope that, with English, refugees will have the best chance of meeting British locally, being accepted not isolated & fitting fully to their community. We need more Essex-based volunteers to lend a helping hand to those who have survived the journey here - integration is a two way street.

Life for refugees, in France and the UK remains challenging. Their plight magnifies what we, at Calais Light, have always believed - that refugees are people like us, who need help, kindness and our support because of the terror and trauma they have experienced uprooting their lives and facing an uncertain future. We want to continue reaching out to those who seek sanctuary here - understanding & supplying their needs and helping them integrate.

Calais Light still needs your financial support

As a supporter of Calais Light, you are critical to giving help and hope to people displaced by conflict & persecution. Your kindness helps us continue to improve their day-to-day lives & offer practical and emotional support on the ground. Money is needed to run Calais Light to improve the lives & mental well-being of refugees, giving them hope for a brighter future. Please donate to us now & help us raise £15,000 - any amount, no matter how small will help!

OUR POLICY

We have a NO-HOARDING POLICY on cash. Everything we get above a minimum operating balance goes straight to help refugees. Agility is our strength. We donate regularly to local on the ground NGOs & charities & respond to their emergency appeals.

Your support means everything to us. Please donate now & help us to continue the work we do until refugees are offered a solution, safe passage, & humane treatment once they reach our shores. Thank you for caring.