HOW YOU CAN HELP US

DONATIONS:

• Money: We particularly need to raise money to improve the environment we provide for our residents. We are just coming to the end of a project to re-equip the bedrooms and our next aim is to completely refurbish our 16 year old kitchen to bring it up to modern standards, which is likely to cost well in excess of £25,000. If you prefer, your donation may be used to help us pay for meals and other services to residents for which we receive no official funding.

  You can send a cheque to “Colchester Night Shelter” and post it to the Night Shelter’s address. The best way to give money if you are a tax payer is through Gift Aid: if you are not already registered with us, our Gift Aid form (pdf 53Kb) can be down loaded here. Or, if you prefer, you can give money through CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) cheques or directly through their website, www.cafonline.org.

• In-kind giving: At harvest time many schools and churches collect tins and other non-perishable goods such as cereals, biscuits, tea and coffee. This helps to keep down the cost of providing breakfast and dinner every day for up to 20 homeless people. We also give out toiletries such as tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, razors and STs to all our residents. So collections of these items are also very useful.
  If you want to do this please phone Pernille on 01206 549 885.

  We cannot accept clothes, bedding or furniture. Please contact Beacon House for clothing and Matrix for furniture. Their contact details can be found on our Links page.

BEQUESTS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS:

• If you are local and you want to be sure that the money you leave in your will is going to go directly to the people you want to benefit, Colchester Night Shelter could be the project you want to support. You can come round and have a look and see for yourself what we provide and how.
• If you are organising a special event such as a wedding, baptism or birthday, you may want to consider collecting money as gesture of good will to those not so fortunate.
• At a loved one’s passing away you may want to reserve the giving of flowers for the family and consider Colchester Night Shelter as the charity for friends and colleagues to be giving money to instead.

ORGANISING SPECIAL FUND RAISING EVENTS:

These are just some of the ideas that individuals and groups have put into practice in the past. You may have even better ones and we are always happy to hear them.

As well as fundraising and having fun, you will help people become more aware of the plight of the homeless and the work the Night Shelter does to help.

WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, CONTACT PERNILLE PETERSEN
ON 01206 549 885 to discuss your ideas

• Frugal Lenten Lunches: Is especially suited to people who want to do something for lent in their parish. The idea is to have a series of lunches together paying maybe as much as £5.00 for a meal it only costs £1-2.00 to produce. The difference goes to the Night Shelter.
• Basket Meal Celebrations: This brings together people for a party where everyone prepares one or two gourmet meals and at the same time buys a ticket for the party for maybe £5-6.00. At the event you bring your own meals but eat a gourmet meal made by someone else. This is great fun and can raise as much as £300-400 in a single evening . And it spreads the work load nicely!
• Sales and auctions: From table top sales where everything can be sold to auctions which can be persuaded to donate a % of their proceeds and auctions of promises where luxury goods or special events are auctioned off to the highest bidder are all great to do. Although some catering is required for some of these occasions, food items for this can be donated as well and so keep costs down. These kinds of events can bring in from £25.00 to several thousands.
• Sponsorship events: In the past people have been carol singing, and slept out to raise money and awareness. If you can run, dance, bake and organise people then a sponsored event may be your preferred way of raising money for Colchester Night Shelter.