Love Your Neighbour Hamper Initiative 2024
Belfrey Groups and individuals from our church family blessed the community with hampers again in December 2024. The Belfrey community provided 33 hampers in total, which were distributed to families of various sizes, including their pets. This church engagement within our community is amazing and will help demonstrate Jesus's love in our city. We were able to bless people with support from the following places:
CAP
Peasholme Shelter
Park Grove School
Besom
Testimonies from the people who delivered and received the hampers
“The first family we delivered a hamper to were Muslim refugees from Afghanistan who had been in York for three months. They were so sweet and very grateful! They invited us to tea, and we spent half an hour enjoying green tea, pistachios, and raisins while chatting. The eldest son translated for us. It was a joy to meet them, experience their hospitality, and explain why our church gives out hampers at Christmas.”
“The second delivery was to a family consisting of a grandmother and two teenage boys. Their house had bare floorboards, very little furniture, and a single portable gas heater in the front room. The grandmother shared that she had lost her son a few years ago and found Christmas especially hard since then. Along with the hamper, we gave her a flyer inviting her to church.”
“The Belfrey Groups prepared 10 hampers for CAP clients, including two for those living in shelters—Changing Lives and Peasholme Centre. Most groups delivered the hampers themselves, but I was able to help with four deliveries. This allowed me to share how much the people we work with mean to the groups who prepared the hampers. The generosity of the Belfrey community was evident in the quality and thoughtfulness of the hampers, reflecting the abundance of God’s love through His Church. Recipients were deeply moved, and for me, it was a heartwarming confirmation of the Church working together to support those in need.”
“The families were overwhelmed with the gifts—but in the best way possible. While we didn’t receive much direct feedback, we could sense how appreciated the hampers were.”
“We were deeply moved by the reactions from the two Besom hamper recipients, both single mothers with challenging circumstances. They were in tears and hugged us after we delivered the hampers, which had been lovingly prepared by Belfrey Group members. One home was bare, and another was in poor condition. After hearing their stories, we prayed with them, and they were eager to receive prayer. One of the women expressed interest in coming to Belfrey Church and welcomed our future contact. The hampers also included copies of Luke’s Gospel and the Alpha resource Why Christmas. Invitations to the Carol Service at the Minster were sent prior to delivery, as we felt there was no reason not to invite them.”
“Both hampers were well received. One was delivered to a man who, as it turned out, had a family. The children were thrilled with the Christmas food. The other hamper went to the mother of the recipient, who was delighted to have gifts and food for her grandchildren. Our Belfrey Group gave generously, and the match funding allowed us to purchase some really thoughtful and high-quality gifts.”
“At York Foodbank, the Belfrey hamper donations helped us to produce 15 hampers in December: this included a hamper for a family of 10 who had 8 kids, and another of 8 with 6 kids. All were referred through Peasholme, aside from one family of 5 known to Foodbank directly who we felt should receive a hamper. We had universal gratitude from everyone who received a hamper, just with people touched by the kindness shown to them. It was so nice to be able to give families some nice food items who would have been really limited on what they have been able to afford in the run up to Christmas. Thank you to everyone at the Belfrey who contributed hamper items which made this possible”.
“We delivered a hamper to a mum and dad and their daughter (and 2 dogs), living in a small first floor flat. We were welcomed to sit and chat with the mum and daughter in their living room, and we spent some time getting to know them and talking about school and hobbies. They were very grateful for the gifts and food”.