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Making a difference: volunteering at Refugee Action

Monday, December 31st, 2012

Volunteers receive their packs after signing in at Refugee Action's annual volunteer day, RAVE.

A new year is a great time to try new things.  If you’re passionate about human rights, want to make a difference and care about the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, why not try volunteering with Refugee Action? 

Here’s Miriam’s story.  She helped out at our head office this summer.  What could you do in 2013?

I’d heard a great deal about Refugee Action, but I had no idea of the scale of its work.  I didn’t know about the number of employees and offices, nor about the extensive commitment of the case workers and the huge number of clients they see every day.  Volunteering at head office showed me how much work goes on behind the scenes to help people seeking safety.  And I learn a lot about how this work changes people’s lives.

Volunteering at Refugee Action was my first experience of what goes on inside such an extensive charity.  The prospect of working in an office, completing the odd administrative task, was daunting!  But from the first day, I felt valued and useful.  Those six weeks gave me a keen insight into the workings of such a large organisation, giving me a peek into future opportunities.

Most of my time as a volunteer was spent with the Fundraising and Communications team, helping to inspire Refugee Action’s supporters and keep them informed.  I helped with some early planning for World Food Night 2013.  It’s an exciting event that could raise more than £20,000 – potentially funding groundbreaking new work with refugees in the UK.  I also helped Refugee Action’s Partnerships Officer, Gemma.  She’s looking at new ways for businesses to support refugees and make their neighbourhoods nicer places for everyone.

My six weeks at Refugee Action was a great way to end my gap year of working, travelling and volunteering.  As I headed off to university I was  eager to continue to help in such a rewarding way.  I’m hoping to volunteer with a local refugee charity and I’ll definitely be holding my very own World Food Night!  If you’re interested in refugee issues and you’ve got a few hours a week to spare, you should definitely think about volunteering in 2013.

Inspired?  If you’d like to volunteer with us in 2013 – at our frontline services or in our head office – please email us or tweet us with your details. 

And finally – a very Happy New Year from everyone at Refugee Action!

Posted by Eleanor Dean

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Posted in fundraiser, fundraising, Supporters, Volunteers | No Comments »

What’s cooking for Refugee Action’s World Food Night?

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

As our World Food Night fundraiser approaches, here’s a round-up of what’s being planned around the country, and how you can join in too.

 
With less than three weeks to go until World Food Night, our supporters up and down the country have been trawling the Internet for recipes, dusting off their oven gloves and hunting down obscure ingredients like pickled Burmese tea leaves.  We can’t wait to see what everyone serves up!  In the meantime, here’s a round-up of a few of the exciting events people like you are planning around the country.

Samina Irfan is hosting an evening of Pakistani food at the Liverpool Kensington Community Fire station.  She and her friends are planning to cook chick pea rice, chicken curry, kofta curry, vegetable and naans.  The event is open to anyone from the local community, but please email us if you would like to attend to ensure there is enough food to go round!

Yesim Patisserie

In Leicester, we’ve been very kindly supported by the staff at Yesim Patisserie, who are holding a unique evening of Turkish cuisine in support of our work.  On the menu is a selection of Mediterranean mezes, traditional Anatolian hot pastries with various fillings, with delicious Turkish baklavas as desserts.  Food is available for a suggested donation of £20, with half of all donations raised going directly to our work.

In Manchester, our first (and possibly our only) fancy dress World Food Night is being planned by Nathan Powe, with guests encouraged to come dressed in the traditional attire of a particular country.  Nathan himself will be dressed as a traditional English gent, complete with bowler hat, three piece suit and umbrella.  We like to think he’ll be wearing this when cooking up his planned meal of chilli con carne, plantain chips and Cumberland sausages and mash…

A workplace World Food Lunch is being planned at Liverpool Innovation Park, with a food hamper on offer for the best dish submitted to their cookery contest.  Hungry office workers will then receive a tasty international lunch for a small donation, choosing from what promises to be one of the most varied menus of any World Food event!

Finally, we’re really excited about another Liverpool-based event, as it’s being planned, prepared and hosted by our Get Connected youth group.  The young people in Get Connected are all unaccompanied young asylum seekers, and they’ve been taking part in a cookery and independent living project to help them to cope with life in the UK.  They’re going to be cooking food from around the world for some special guests who have supported them in the past, and we’re very excited to have them involved.

Don’t forget, if you’d like to host your own World Food Night and be part of the fun on February 24th, you can sign up here.  We’ll send you everything you need to get started, including free recipes from around the world.  Once you’ve registered, let us know what you’re planning and you might just feature in our next blog!  We’ll see you in the kitchen…

Posted by Eleanor Dean

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Posted in Events, fundraising, In depth, Supporters | No Comments »

Want to fundraise for refugees? Our supporters show you how…

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Have you ever thought about fundraising for Refugee Action?  Here’s a guest post by Salma, our fundraising assistant, about some of the great things our supporters have done for us recently…

This year, we’ve had some fantastic fundraisers doing their bit to help us raise much needed funds for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.  Check out some of our most recent fundraisers, all of whom are achieving great things in support of our work…

Catherine Annabel – The BUPA Great Yorkshire Run

Catherine is donning her running shoes and taking part in the 10K  BUPA Great Yorkshire Run in October 2011. She’s doing this event in honour of the work we do with refugees, an issue which has been close to her heart since she was young.  She says: “it seems to me that privileged as we are in the UK, we should be ready to offer sanctuary to people who arrive here having fled persecution and danger in their home countries.  There is so much ill-informed hostility out there towards refugees, and government funding has been drastically reduced – I wanted to do what I could to raise funds and awareness.” You can sponsor Catherine’s run via her JustGiving page.

Felix, George and Eric – Driving the Mongol Rally 2011

When we heard that three young men from Stratton would be attempting to traverse a 10,000 mile drive to Ulaanbaatar to raise money for our work – well, you could say we were a little surprised.  The boys are taking part in the world renowned Mongol Rally, and have been sending updates from the road as they go.  Last we heard, they were somewhere in Kazakhstan…  Their adventure has already raised an incredible £780, and there’s still time to donate and help them reach their target of £1000.

Chris Knighton – Virgin London Marathon 2011

Chris completed his first ever marathon for Refugee Action this April.  As well as running an impressive 26 miles, he raised over £3000. When we asked why he’d chosen to fundraise for us, he said “I was looking to support a progressive charity which contributed to supporting multiculturalism in the UK. I believe that one of the best things about England is the multiculturalism. I think that if you want to feel good about your country, you should be welcoming people, and obviously Refugee Action does that.”

So, what can I do?

We have loads of exciting opportunities for any would-be fundraisers this year, all of which could really help us to change the lives of refugees and asylum seekers.

There’s still a chance to enter the BUPA Great Yorkshire Run in Sheffield and run with Catherine, and there’s also The Great South Run in Portsmouth, with its fast, flat course along Portsmouth’s historic naval dockyard.  Both races take place in October, so there’s still plenty of time to enter. 

If cycling is more your thing, a group of Refugee Action staff from our London office are planning to cycle to Leicester in the spring.  It’s a trip of about 120 miles, and we’ll be raising funds for Fresh Start, a project which supports destitute women asylum seekers and helps them to find sustainable solutions to the difficulties they face.

If you’re feeling especially adventurous, sign ups for the 2012 Mongol Rally open on August 25th at 2pm UK time – but get in quickly, as spaces are limited!

Whatever you’d like to do, you can be sure that the money you raise will go right to where it’s needed most – helping vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers across the UK. If you’d like some tips on getting started, feel free to contact our Fundraising Team – we’ll be happy to help!

Posted by Eleanor Dean

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Posted in fundraising, In depth, Supporters | No Comments »

He did it! Marathon runner Chris makes one last impassioned plea for support

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Well, I survived. Just. My toes didn’t fall off and despite the pain from 16 miles on I was able to function fairly normally afterwards. Of course it was slow (I told you it would be) and, yes, I was passed by a number of people in full rhino costumes.  My preparation can euphemistically be described as being a little underdone so, all in all, it’s a bit of relief to be sitting here with just a few aches and pains and a bit of sunburn to show for me efforts.

Yes, it was the most difficult thing I have ever done, physically. Before Sunday the last time I had taken part in any organised running event was the original Sport Relief run in 1986 and that was only ten kilometres and I was 16. And yet, here I am not massively fit and not massively prepared and still pretty much ok  two days after the marathon (mind you, that won’t stop me using my aches as an excuse for general sloth for a few days). Not perhaps a case study in how to train but…

So, I am conscious that the most difficult thing I have ever done pales into insignificance when compared to the physical, psychological and emotional experiences that Refugee Action’s clients go through before they come to the UK in the hope of finding an accepting and welcoming home. It really does still feel like the least I could do.

I am not one of nature’s tin rattlers. I don’t necessarily revel in good works being done in public and I know that not everyone responds well to just the sort of impassioned pleas for support that I am about to make, but here goes.

Refugee Action does incredibly important work with incredibly vulnerable people who have come to our country in the hope that we will be different, that we will be their friend. We should feel honoured that these individuals, with all that they have gone through, identify our home as somewhere that they can place their hope for the future.  Refugee Action is one of the very few organisations working actively to make sure that we live up to that hope.

Everyone who has supported me by donating has done something that will make an enormous difference – thank you. If you haven’t yet made a donation but would like to there is still time to make sure that I make the fundraising target I promised to Refugee Action. Please go to www.justgiving.com/refugeeactionmarathon and give what you can.

OK. Sanctimonious bit over. I am going back to complaining about blisters.

Posted by Julia Ravenscroft

Posted in Events, Supporters | No Comments »

Our marathon runner Chris gives a training update and auctions his guitar!

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

I think in my last blog I listed a number of reasons why I was going to run the marathon for refugee action (by the way I think the gag with inverted commas around the word “run” is wearing thin but just assume that they’re always there and that I am never using the word in its true sense). Now, with almost just a few weeks to go, and all I can think of is the reasons why not to.

It would be small minded of me, I know, to produce a litany of aching bones, sore muscles, the mindless boredom of the gym treadmill and how I hate bananas (having replaced Ready Break as my fad food of choice). But small minded as I am – oh, the aching bones, the sore muscles, you get the picture…

I did not think it would be easy and on that score, at least, I have been proved right. Above all dragging myself out of bed to train has been the hard thing and I am sure that I could have done more. It is only the power of the loud guitar music that has kept me going on many occasions.

Actually, at this precise moment I am starting to worry that I really should have done more but I have tried to balance the risks of overtraining and under-preparation (it may be a fair accusation that I have veered to the latter)

If I was focusing on trying to complete the marathon in a given/respectable time then I would be just like the character in the Roger McGough poem who “aimed low… and missed.” But, while my time on 17 April might be the subject of derision for serious runners , I am certain I will finish even if octogenarians and people dressed as chickens are flying past me as I stagger around.

Already both friends and strangers have given me added motivation by sponsoring me through may Just Giving page and the news of the cuts to Refugee Action’s budget provide all the extra motivation to propel me around the course on the day. Give me a wave if you see me, I’ll be the bald sweating guy near the back.

PS. In order to help the fundraising cause, and put my money where my feet are, I am auctioning an extremely nice electric guitar (a Rickenbacker 660 in jetglo for those who know about these things). 100% of the sale price will go to the fundraising total for Refugee Action. The auction is here

Posted by Julia Ravenscroft

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Posted in Events, Supporters | No Comments »

We all have our reasons…

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

As some of you may know, the Refugee Action team recently sent out a questionnaire to get the indispensable input of our supporters.

One of the questions we asked was: What created your interest in refugees?
We also offered our supporters the chance to win a LUSH basket or a book token for the most interesting answer!

Many people took part in the survey, and we are so grateful for this as it really gave us a great deal of insight into how our campaigners think and work.

(more…)

Posted by Chiara Gnoli

Posted in Campaigns, Supporters | No Comments »