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August Newsletter

Responding to the Afghan Crisis.

We’re working with the local authority to prepare for the arrival of refugees from Afghanistan. The decision as to when this happens lies with the Home Office and no dates have been given as yet. We’ll be working with other statutory services on how we can jointly respond and provide a place of safety and welcome – with both immediate and long term support.

Our priority has been to focus on supporting people from Afghanistan who have been living in Calderdale for some time. Hearing their fears about their loved ones still in Afghanistan has been hugely moving and challenging, as there is little we can do other than provide a listening ear and a warm, welcoming place to come together as a community. We are grateful to Holly Lynch MP who has been providing surgeries from our centre to hear their concerns and lodge them with the Government.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from so many local people in our Calderdale community, who want to welcome people seeking sanctuary and have been particularly moved by the escalating situation in Afghanistan. We’ve also been the subject of a lot of press coverage in the last week – you can find news links below.

Please continue to follow along with us via this newsletter and social media to keep up to date on what you can do locally to help out. Your support means so much!

Join us to Watch Limbo at Square Chapel.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be screening the film Limbo in partnership with Square Chapel. Limbo is an offbeat observation of the refugee experience. On a fictional remote Scottish island, a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. Among them is Omar, a young Syrian musician burdened by the weight of his grandfather’s oud, which he has carried all the way from his homeland.

Join us for this funny, moving, award winning film! 
Suitable for ages 12+
Sunday 19 Sept, 4 PM -or- Monday 20 Sept, 7 PM

Tickets are available at a discounted rate of £5 for supporters of St. Augustine's using the code 'FRIEND' at checkout. 

Book Your Tickets Now

Ways to Get Involved.

Donations Needed:

Our storage is currently bursting with clothing and housewares thanks to your generosity! Please don't send more clothing, consider sending the following donations:

- second-hand tech like phones & computers
- men’s trainers and shoes
- walking boots
- suitcases 
- new toiletries


Please drop donations off at the centre or contact Hassan at 07877 001913.

Sports Volunteers Needed:

Sports provide a great way for our centre members to lift their mood and meet new people. If you also love sports and would like to help, we are in need of volunteers to help accompany centre members to cricket, basketball, football and more.

Contact Su at  su.halliday@staugustinescentrehalifax.org.uk

Other Volunteering Opportunities:

We are also specifically looking for volunteers to help with our gardening group and a new research project. If your skills lie in either of these areas, or you have another expertise you'd like to use to help the Centre, please don't hesitate to get in touch!

Fundraise:

Fundraising is one of the most meaningful ways you can support us right now. From holding a bake sale to completing a challenge, there's something to suit every skill and interest. 

If you have an idea or would like help thinking of one, get in touch! You can see some current fundraising projects below to inspire you, too.

You can also now raise funds with hardly any effort at all by shopping on Amazon Smile or signing up with easyfundraising.

If you'd prefer to make a one-off or regular donation, click the button below.

Donate Now

Our Campaigns.

#AfghanRefugeesWelcome

We need to show loud and clear that communities around the UK want the government to do more now. Join the #AfghanRefugeesWelcome campaign to show your support - here's how:

First - write the message ‘Afghan Refugees Welcome’ on a piece of paper and take a picture of yourself holding it. (You can get creative with this! Banners/drawings etc)

Then - create a social media post with this picture (Twitter/Instagram). Here's a suggested post: “No matter how people are forced to make their journey to the UK, we must offer welcome and compassion to those fleeing Afghanistan. The Government can and must do more, and urgently offer safe passage to those who need it now #AfghanRefugeesWelcome @infostaugs @safepassageuk

Businesses & Organisations: Join our Orange Heart Campaign!

We are about to launch a pack specifically for businesses and other organisations to show support for the #TogetherWithRefugees orange heart 🧡 campaign, and we want you to get involved. 

Email amber.ray@staugustinescentrehalifax.org.uk if your company or workplace can show support.

Individuals are still encouraged to share their photos on social media & tag us with the hashtag above. Let's show the world that this is #WhoWeAre!

Contribute to Our Welcome Wall

As another part of our orange hearts campaign, we want to fill our entry walls with orange hearts containing messages of support for newly arrived refugees and people seeking asylum. 

We'd love it if you could provide a small donation in exchange for your heart. Simply donate here and leave your message in the "Details or Reference" box - we'll do the rest! Alternatively, stop by the centre and write in a heart yourself.

What's on at the Centre.

Healthy Holidays.

We have been having a lot of fun with over 80 children as part of our Healthy Holidays programme in partnership with Together We Grow, Calderdale Council and Community Foundation for Calderdale.

Thanks to the brilliant Marcus Rashford, Councils across England have been funding organisations to deliver a range of activities focusing on fitness, healthy eating and creativity.  Alongside Together We Grow we are running 16 activity days for our community, including bowling, scavenger and treasure hunts, rugby, football, trekking, squash, puppet making, drumming, cooking, cricket, dance, as well as trips out to Filey, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Cartwright Hall, Shibden Park and Todmorden.  

We are hugely grateful to the practitioners and volunteers who have made this happen.

Integration Update.

It has been another great month in terms of integration with lots of activities and trips happening. Nine volunteers joined the team at Landmark Trust-owned Calverley Old Hall where we were taught traditional plastering, woodwork and brickwork techniques. Many centre members who joined us already had these skills so it was great to showcase them under the watchful eye of master craftsmen.

Turning to sport we joined the Halifax Panthers RLFC team in cleaning up their East Stand ahead of the new season. As a thank you, we were invited to watch Halifax against Bradford Bulls, with the Panthers victorious! Our centre members loved it, they were picking up the rules as they went along and by the end of it were shouting at the referee! I’m also working with local rugby teams for our centre members to join and who knows, we may return to the Shay to cheer them on in the blue and white.

To close off the month, we joined up with Slow the Flow in Hardcastle Craggs where we learned and helped to build some leaky dams to combat the flooding problem in the valley. 

Brilliant Fundraising Projects on Now.

Becky Barraclough Brows is currently running a raffle for FREE brows worth £370. Tickets are just £10 each and every penny will go to St. Augustine's! 
Raffle closes September 5th. Enter now on Instagram.
Bread for Beds Halifax 
Lottie is currently baking up some fantastic breads, bagels, focaccias and more with all profits going to St. Augustine's Centre. You can find out more on the GoFundMe page here or on Instagram.
The Temperance Movement Café x Artist Angela Smyth
have teamed up to create these fun totes and tees in support of St. Augustine's. You can buy yours online, or pop in store and grab a brew, too - we recommend the latter, you won't regret it!

In the Media.

The past couple of weeks have led to a flurry of media attention. Just in case you missed anything, here's a list of links in which we've been featured:

ITV News:

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2021-08-17/those-left-behind-must-not-be-abandoned-pleads-former-british-army-interpreter

BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58270841

BBC Look North:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000z44m/look-north-yorkshire-evening-news-21082021

Examiner Live:

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/how-one-yorkshire-town-getting-21343698

Halifax Courier:

https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/politics/calderdale-welcomes-number-of-refugee-families-from-afghanistan-3348983

https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/halifaxs-st-augustines-centre-issues-advice-on-how-residents-can-help-afghan-refugees-3355550

https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/halifax-woman-shares-terror-of-living-under-the-taliban-3359349

https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/afghanistan-crisis-how-calderdale-is-supporting-refugees-and-what-what-you-can-do-to-help-3360464

We've also been guests on the following radio stations:
BBC Radio 5 Live, Global Radio, and Radio Leeds

Thank you.

We'd like to send a very special thanks this month to Calderdale Council & Newground for their important funding which helped us to continue our English language programme throughout lockdown and beyond. 
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