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Can you help us to support people this winter?
Welcome to your November update from Catching Lives. Two weeks ago, we launched an ambitious Winter Appeal to raise £50,000 after sharing the news we sadly cannot afford to run the Winter Shelter this year. We’re fundraising to maintain our essential day services and, hopefully, to extend drop-in hours into the evening again this winter. Since launching, you’ve helped us raise more than £7,000 via our Just Giving campaign page. Please help if you can – a donation of £19 covers the cost of our drop-in to a person experiencing homelessness for one day. You can donate here. Thank you everyone for your support.
In the news
The news about our Winter Shelter sparked a lot of media interest and you may have seen us in the Kentish Gazette or The i newspaper, heard us on BBC Radio Kent or Heart Radio, or seen us on ITV News Meridian. When the now former Home Secretary described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice” and announced plans to restrict tents on the streets, our Chief Executive Tasmin Maitland also spoke to KentLive. We also put out a strong message on our socials: Homelessness is not a “lifestyle choice”.
New items in the bookshop
Kevin Harris’s new book ‘Cycling Through The World Of Art’ is now on sale at the Catching Lives Bookshop at The Crooked House in Palace Street. Books are £6 each with all the money going to Catching Lives. Kevin was on BBC Radio Kent talking about his book on Monday 13 November. Listen back here (from 2 hours and 13 minutes in.)
Meanwhile, Rita Quintelier from Belgium has donated some beautiful handcrafted greeting cards, which she made for Catching Lives after visiting the bookshop last year. They are priced at £2.50 and available in the bookshop.
A big thank you
Thank you to all our volunteers, trustees and supporters for everything you do. Well done to Chantelle Iles who walked 31,000 steps in October, raising more than £500. Good luck to Alexa Barrett and friends who are running 5k on Saturday in memory of their friend Naz. Thanks to Canterbury Academy for smashing a £500 target from stallholder donations – we’ll be at their Christmas Market on 24 November.
A big shout out to Canterbury Residents and Community Group for setting up your annual fundraiser. Thank you to hairdresser Liv for volunteering your time to cut clients’ hair (pictured), and to David from The Corner House for regular cookery groups. And thanks to volunteer teams from The Cave, Barratt David Wilson Kent, and HSBC. And if you’d like to fundraise or volunteer, please get in touch!
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Donate to Catching Lives Winter Appeal via JustGiving.
