Asylum Seekers Clothing Store - Volunteers Needed

As we said in the Friday newsletter on 27th January, The Belfrey Love Your Neighbour focus is to have four short-term projects over 2023 where we’ll be encouraging you to “serve York” through joining in with projects across York.

The first of these is ”Central Store”, a free clothing store for asylum seekers to come and choose their own clothes, which has just been set up.  The Social Action Fund (our Post Pandemic Fund) has given a £4000 start-up donation, and it’s a wonderful way for us to meet the needs of our neighbours in York.  It is running at Central Methodist Church on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 1-3pm, with volunteers there 12:30-3:30.  Refugee Action York are co-ordinating the volunteers who will go through RAY’s application process.  They would prefer you to be able to give at least a 6 month commitment to the project, although the commitment could be anything from once-a-month to more frequently.  

So can you help?   If you’re interested, please contact claire.treherne@belfrey.org or volunteers@refugeeactionyork.com for an application form.

This is only the first of a number of opportunities to help the four hundred refugees in a hotel in York who arrived in December 2022, plus of course those who have been in York longer.

Coming soon will be: 

  • evening volunteer sessions to receive and sort clothes

  • drivers for van runs

  • requests for donated clothes. 

More will follow as details are confirmed.


Isabelle Flynn