***UPDATE 06.10.21*** WE DID IT! Thank you to everyone who has shown their support and reach our target in just one month! With the £10,000 pledge from our anonymous donor and Gift Aid, we have raised over £34,000 which will make such a huge difference to those arriving and making Bristol their home. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. This appeal is now closed, but our work continues. To donate or become an Aid Box Community Regular Giver, please head to https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/8535#!/DonationDetails

***UPDATE 27.09.21*** HELP US UNLOCK A FURTHER £10,000 FOR OUR APPEAL!

A generous anonymous donor has pledged a £10,000 donation if we can reach our target in ONE WEEK. We are SO close - we can do it! Please donate and share to help us get over the line! THANK YOU!!

**UPDATE 13.09.21** We are overwhelmed with your generosity and messages of support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This week we have started to meet with some of the refugees that have arrived from Afghanistan. Their stories are heart-wrenching and many of them have absolutely nothing except the clothes they have travelled in. Your support will ensure they can access the things they will need to begin to rebuild their lives. THANK YOU.

Urgent Appeal

Donate to Aid Box Community today so that we can fully re-open and expand our services to provide support, supplies and sanctuary to Bristol's refugees and those seeking asylum.

Watching the crisis unfold in Afghanistan has brought home to us the reality facing so many people in desperate and urgent need of safety and sanctuary.

It is a cruel reality that, at a time when our service is needed more than ever, our income has been hit hard. Our usual fundraising events have been put on hold and finding funding is becoming ever more challenging. This is why we need to ask for your support today.

Now, more than ever, we need to step up and stand beside all of our city's displaced people.

Meet Hostility with Humanity

Refugees and those seeking asylum are facing unprecedented challenges. Among the most marginalised in our communities, they have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. On top of this, they are facing increasing levels of racism and hostility. We cannot stand by we must meet this hostility with humanity and continue to spread hope and love.

Responding to urgent needs

During the pandemic, ABC quickly adapted to the crisis, moving our Free Shop online, delivering emergency food and provisions and quickly developing and setting up our new virtual befriending Connections programme. We are good at responding quickly to the needs of the people we support and for those arriving from Afghanistan with little more than the clothes on their back, we will be ready to welcome and support them.

We need your support today to ensure we are able to provide essential supplies and practical support and to make connections, build friendships and a sense of belonging so that those arriving here can feel truly welcomed and part of Bristol's community.

We desperately need your support

We are aiming to raise £20,000 which will help us continue and increase our services, including:

- Coordinating the outpouring of support from our city - collecting, sorting and distributing donations of items to those in desperate need

- Increase the opening times of our Free Shop, enabling people to choose the items they need

- Continue and expand our programme of activities and peer support groups to ensure people feel welcome and connected to their new community

Together, we can be ready to welcome those seeking sanctuary in Bristol. Please donate what you can today.

Thank you.