The Leek Family

Fundraising for Refugees at Home in memory of James

Fundraising for Refugees At Home
£26,559
raised of £25,000 target
In memory of James Leek
Refugees At Home

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1177765
We connect those with a spare room to host refugees and asylum seekers

Story

This is the fundraising page for an amazing charity, Refugees at Home.

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James, our incredible husband and father, passed away in April. Of everyone we've ever met, Dad was the most vibrant, energetic and wise. Dad led a beautiful, charmed life and in turn felt a great responsibility to give back to those less fortunate - just as life was good to him, he was good to life.

Refugees At Home is a small charity with the big ambition of helping as many asylum-seekers and refugees as it can out of homelessness and towards a settled, integrated, productive life in the UK.

Refugees at Home depends on generous hosts – usually with spare rooms – who give their guests free accommodation for from one night to many months. Their guests are from more than seventy countries, all fleeing war persecution or discrimination who have often survived traumatic journeys. 

They help over 650 guests annually and they need our help to continue this amazing work. 

Money raised in Dad's memory will be used to:

  • Find new host families. There is a shortage of host families. This has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak. The charity has recently employed someone specifically to increase host numbers by increasing the retention of existing hosts and recruiting new ones
  • Make small bursaries (£20 / week) to asylum seekers who are forbidden to earn until their immigration status is settled, and to refugees to cover travel costs as they look for work. 

As descendants of immigrants, we're acutely conscious of the need to keep welcoming, and looking after those in the hardest conditions.  In the height of the Syrian civil war, Dad was a keen advocate and financial supporter of our Synagogue's efforts to adopt and house a Syrian family fleeing the conflict. 

Dad would have been so keen - and proud - to support this wonderful cause. 

Thank you for your support.

Hilary, Edward, Andrew and Ben

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About the charity

Refugees At Home

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1177765
Refugees at Home connects those with a spare room in their home with refugees and asylum seekers in need of a safe place to stay. Since we launched in 2016 we have placed over 5,000 guests resulting in over 450,000 nights being spent in a warm home.

Donation summary

Total raised
£26,558.50
+ £2,567.75 Gift Aid
Online donations
£12,338.50
Offline donations
£14,220.00

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