New Year - New Houses
Within the next two months we will providing another nine rooms in two new houses. After a long wait for our second house things are now moving fast. Our partners Green Pastures Housing will complete the purchase of our second house towards the end of February and we have also secured a lease on a five bedroomed house in Clifton which starts on February 1st. TWO house. It's really exciting but also challenging. Our need for volunteers and supporters suddenly moves into a higher gear. As someone who has shown support and interest in the work of Restore (York) we are sure you will rise to the challenge with us and continue your support. One simple way to help is to forward this email to friends who may be interested in our work.
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Fundraising
We were delighted with the success of our New Year Cafe at the Belfrey Hall. We took more than £600 in donations from shoppers and supporters who came in for drinks, cakes and soup. Lots of people commented on the pleasant atmosphere and asked us to run it more often. Our supporters had been so generous there was enough food left over for the Never Give Up Group to use at their dinner later in the week.
Our 50 in 50 Christmas appeal brought in about 12 new regular givers and some substantial one off gifts too. Thank you if you were one of those who responded. You can of course become a regular donor at anytime by visiting our website and setting up a standing order. As we take on the new houses the need for support increases and hence the need to increase our cashflow.
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Our Aims for 2012
In our recent review with Green Pastures Housing we set out our aim for 2012 to have six houses operating by the end of the year. They agreed to continue our partnership to purchase more houses for us to lease to help us reach that target. We are also exploring other ways of leasing properties in the city. It was clear that they were satisfied with the way we had been working together so far.
We have brought a new director onto the board. Iona Edwards works professionally with homeless people in a service that finds them temporary accomodation. She will be a great asset on our board and we look forward to her joining us at our next meeting.
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Use your skills
We have two houses to prepare in a very short time. We need people to carry ourt practical jobs. Decorating, furniture moving, cleaning, gardening, DIY skills - there are plenty of jobs to do.
We also need to increase the size of our team of volunteers who support and befriend tenants after they have moved in. We offer training if you would like to help us with this important job.
Please get in touch with your offers of help and time and we'll find you something to do. |
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Promote Restore
As we grow we want to spread the word about the work we do and how people can support us. We have people available to speak to groups, churches and organisations. If you are in a position to invite us or to suggest us as speakers it would be a great help. As we talk to people we find there's a lot of sympathy for people who find themselves homeless but not much awareness of the services that charities and churches in York provide to help them. Just drop us a line and we'll be please to provide you with an interesting speaker who will tell the story of Restore in York.
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New Possibilities
During his review one of the men we support said that Restore had opened his mind to new possibilities. We asked if we could let our supporters know what he said and he agreed that we could tell you.
"Restore has opened my mind to new possibilities. I started attending church with one of the volunteers. To start with I went along socially, but it has turned into much more than that. Now I want to know more about what it means to be a Christian."
It's good to hear that, for some, Restore means more than just a door key and a roof over their head.
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