Tag: Cyrenians

‘Leith Gives’ campaign appeals for help to ease pressure of pandemic over winter months

New campaign ‘Leith Gives’ appeals for help to ease pressure of pandemic over winter months 

Seventeen North Edinburgh charities, alongside community organisations, local schools, rugby clubs and others brought together by the Leith Trust, have joined forces in a bid to support people most likely to be hit hardest by coronavirus and associated restrictions this winter as a new collaboration, Leith Gives.  

With food banks at risk of being overwhelmed and people likely to feel more isolated during winter months, Leith Gives is hopeful that, with successful fundraising, they will be able to do everything possible to support vulnerable people in December and January. 

John Evans, Leith Gives, (above) said: “Leith Gives is seeking support to raise funds for vulnerable households facing a challenging lockdown amid the second wave of the COVID pandemic. This will allow us to provide tailored food hampers and other household essentials to vulnerable individuals and families in the run up to Christmas and again in late January. 

“We also plan to provide gifts and other items people may need to celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Hanukah and other festivals, and to offer practical help to get people online and connect with loved ones or support groups. 

“People in Leith and north Edinburgh are well known for looking out for the most vulnerable members of our communities and I’m confident that with their support and the collective knowledge and expertise of all the members of Leith Gives, we can spread some hope during what is likely to be a testing winter.

“We believe this approach to be impactful and innovative in its collaboration and every penny raised goes to help the people we support.’’ 

To make a donation, please go to: https://justgiving.com/campaign/LeithGives 

Leith Gives collaborating partners:

All Together Edinburgh 

Citadel Youth Centre

Cyrenians

Dangerous Studio

Doctor Bell’s Family Centre

Edinburgh Academy

Edinburgh Community Food

Edinburgh Remakery

Fettes College

Forth Ports (Port of Leith)

Hibs Community Foundation

Home Start Leith and north Edinburgh

Leith Academy

Leith Rotary

Leith Trust

Milan (Senior Welfare Organisation) 

Multi Cultural Family Base

Out of the Blue Print

People Know How

Pilmeny Development Project

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA)

South Leith Parish Church

The Leith Agency

The Ripple Project

Trinity Academy

Trinity Primary School

YMCA 

Volunteers:
BATs Community Rugby Club
Clockwork Removals
Leith Rugby Club
Trinity Rugby Club 

You’re invited to our SCCR Virtual Conference

Cyrenians Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution is holding a month-long, all-digital festival of FREE events in place of our annual conference.

This exciting programme includes several internationally-renowned special guests.

Please feel free to sign up to as many as you wish!

We are honoured that the digital festival will commence with a film screening of ‘Nae Pasaran’. This 2018 documentary is directed, written and produced by our dear friend Felipe Bustos Sierra. He is a BAFTA-winning filmmaker and creative director at Debasers, a production company based in Glasgow.

You may already know Felipe as the cinematic wizard behind the SCCR’s film ‘Phases of Transition’ which premiered at our 2019 Faces of Transition Annual Conference.

In his first cinema documentary, Felipe tells the powerful story of a long-forgotten solidarity action by factory workers in East Kilbride and ‘Nae Pasaran’ has gone on to receive the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Feature.

The stunning film will be screened on the 1st of October at 7pm via Zoom and followed by a Q&A with Felipe himself to launch SCCR’s International Conference: Connections & bridging the divide.

12A/12 – Suitable for 12 years and over. Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film unless accompanied by an adult.

This event will be delivered on the online platform Zoom. If you book on to the event you will be sent the details via email on how to join nearer the time to the event when bookings have closed.

Please note Zoom offers video capability so you can join with your webcam on, but this is entirely up to you and this option can be turned off. However we would love to see your faces and feel it is a more interactive experience with videos on.

We hope to see you online soon!

Mimi’s Bakehouse supports Cyrenians through ‘pay it forward’ scheme

Mimi’s Bakehouse is offering its customers a fresh way to support homelessness charity Cyrenians with its ‘pay it forward’ scheme, delivering cakes and sweet treats for at-risk communities across Edinburgh.

Cyrenians, a Scottish charity tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness, has adapted many of its service as part of its response to COVID19.

Their Community Cook School, which provided classes to those at-risk or with experience of homelessness, is now a production kitchen cooking 5000 nutritious ready meals a week, delivering to communities across Edinburgh: from those suffering the injustice of food poverty, to frontline workers separated from their families.

Mimi’s Bakehouse is now offering their customers the opportunity to ‘pay it forward’ by purchasing a box of handcrafted cakes for donation to Cyrenians to include in their food deliveries.

Ashley Harley from Mimi’s Bakehouse said: “We were keen to work with Cyrenians as they are providing an invaluable service to our local community during this particularly difficult time and nothing spreads joy more than boxes of cake.

“We are very lucky to have a wonderful customer base that donated over 500 boxes of cake to the NHS during peak lockdown and we hope to continue supporting others as best we can going forward.”

Ewan Aitken, CEO, said: “It’s been staggering and humbling to see the way that communities across Scotland have come together during an exceptionally difficult time, and we’re incredibly grateful for this generous show of support from Mimi’s Bakehouse.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to be able to include these high-end products in our deliveries, letting people know how valued they are – I would like to extend a thank you from myself and from everyone at Cyrenians to Mimi’s Bakehouse, and to their customers in advance, for their compassion and generosity.”

Find out more https://mimisbakehouse.com/collections/pay-it-forward/products/pay-it-forward-cyerians-box

Cyrenians delivers over one million meals during covid19 outbreak

  • Cyrenians FareShare depot quadruples output due to increased demand, delivering over 419 tonnes of food – approximately 1 million meals worth of food – since March
  • Making use of FareShare produce, the Community Cook School, having been converted into a production kitchen, is cooking roughly 5000 healthy, freezer-ready meals a week

 

In Leith’s Jane Street, two converted warehouses are currently responsible for supporting hundreds of people impacted from covid-19: from frontline workers separated from families, to elderly people and families across central and south east Scotland suffering the injustice of food poverty.

Before covid19, the Cyrenians’ depot, operated in partnership with FareShare, was delivering around 50 tonnes of food a month. Across the road, their Community Cook School provided classes to those at-risk of, or with experience of, homelessness, and hosted a series of popular supper clubs to help support the charity.

The impact of the pandemic has placed all communities under increasing pressure, and as a result demand for services has soared. Since March, the depot has quadrupled its output, delivering over 419 tonnes of food to charities and community groups across Central and South East Scotland – approximately ONE MILLION meals worth of food.

The Community Cook School, having been converted into a production kitchen, is cooking roughly 5000 healthy, freezer-ready meals a week, making use of FareShare produce, as well as generous donations from the food industry across the city.

It’s not only the staff at the charity making this remarkable work happen – what makes all this possible is the incredible generosity of volunteers who have pitched in and shared their skills to better support our communities.

From Scottish chef John and others currently on furlough, to local 100-year-old baker Margaret; from long-term volunteer Priscila, to first-year international student Julian – the charity’s quick response has been greatly aided by a wealth of local talent and compassion.

Priscila (above) volunteers 1-2 days a week at the cook school – a place she has gotten to know well over the past year, using her love of cooking and in-depth knowledge of nutrition to ‘give back to the community’ in whatever way she could:

“I started volunteering last year at the supper clubs at the cook school, and when those stopped because of lockdown I immediately wanted to see if there was a way I could help out. You can really see the difference Cyrenians makes.

!I absolutely love cooking and being in the kitchen, and by helping out this way, I can see the real impact that just one individual can make”

Julian is a first-year international student from Zimbabwe at the University of Edinburgh, and was very happy to get involved:

“I started in late March when the pandemic hit – it’s been a great way to give something back, as well as a reason to get out of my room!

“I’ve gotten some other students involved too, some of whom were struggling with feeling contained all day, and they told me that ‘this is the best thing you could have ever done’ to help. Getting outside and helping out is doing us a huge amount of good – the team at the depot are some of the nicest people i’ve ever met, and it’s great to be part of it.”

Ewan Aitken, CEO, said: “The response from across Scotland to this crisis has been both staggering and humbling. Community groups and voluntary organisations have played a key role in Scotland’s response to this crisis, working together and making use of long-standing local connections.

“We have only achieved so much because of those communities and community connections. None of this would have been possible without the compassion and incredible generosity of spirit we’ve seen – I would like to extend a thank you from myself and from everyone at Cyrenians to those communities in all their diversity who have come together in such a difficult period to make sure that people get what they need.”

There are those also who have been unable to leave their home, but determined to make a difference while keeping busy.

Local 100-year old volunteer Margaret has been baking a variety of loaves to include in the deliveries, with support from her local community to get ingredients:

“Baking is helping me keep busy right now, I’m not very mobile so can’t get out and about, but people have been dropping me off flour and sugar which is so lovely. I can’t sew, read or knit right now as I need to see the opticians but they’re all shut. I’ve mainly been baking from memory – I’ve not had any complaints so far so they must be okay!”

Demand for these services has far outstripped anything the charity has ever encountered before, and is likely to continue long-after this pandemic. There is a very high risk of more people being driven into poverty and placed at risk of homelessness by the impact of covid19[1].

More people are faced with restricted incomes, dependents to support, finding it more difficult to pay for essentials like food and housing.

This crisis has shone a light on already-present issues in society. Voluntary groups and charities have played a vital role in the emergency response, and will continue to do so in delivering support while developing long-term solutions to build back better.

City food charity delivers almost ONE MILLION meals to those in need through coronavirus crisis

  • FareShare Central & South East Scotland is now delivering enough food to create around 100,000 meals a week to those at risk of hunger, up from 23,000 before lockdown, to 190 frontline charities across Central and South East Scotland
  • Last year the charity delivered enough food to create almost 1.5 million meals to 138 charities and community groups across the region, including homeless hostels, domestic violence refuges, breakfast clubs and food banks

Food charity FareShare Central & South East Scotland, operated in partnership with Cyrenians, has quadrupled the amount of food delivered to frontline charities supporting vulnerable people since lockdown measures began. The charity is praising the ‘extraordinary’ efforts of its supporters and volunteers during the crisis. 

Over the course of the last year, the Edinburgh-based charity redistributed over 602 tonnes of in-date surplus food from the food industry to 138 charities,  including homeless shelters, school breakfast clubs, food banks and day centres. The food they redistribute includes fresh meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, ready meals, milk and cheese.

However, in the weeks following the lockdown, demand for its service has soared and the charity has distributed over 420 tonnes of food. As well as fresh food, the charity is now providing packets and tins to help create food parcels for those who are self-isolating.

Lynnne Collie, service manager at Cyrenians-operated FareShare, said:“Because of the lockdown many more families and individuals are finding themselves in really tough circumstances, and demand for our food has skyrocketed.

“We’re doing everything we can to continue to get food onto people’s plates, whether that’s delivering fresh food to homeless hostels and domestic violence refuges, or supplying community organisations with the packets and tins they need to get vital food supplies onto the doorsteps of families who are self-isolating.

 “We’re incredibly grateful to our team of volunteers who have gone above and beyond to get this food out, and to everyone who has made a donation. These are tough times for everyone and it’s so heartening to see our community pulling together to get food out to people who need it during this crisis.”

Cyrenians, a Scottish charity tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness, uses FareShare food in a number of its services.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, emergency food bags are being prepared and delivered to at-risk individuals and families across Edinburgh, Falkirk and the Lothians, including those with experience of homelessness currently self-isolating in hotels. The produce also goes towards their Community Cook School, which has been repurposed into a production kitchen, cooking up to 1,000 ready-meals a day.

Neil Hay, Head of Enterprise at Cyrenians, said:“Nobody should have to go without essentials like food or a home. This crisis has put even more pressure on communities who were already struggling to get by, so it is vital that people get the support they need.

“The team of staff and volunteers have done a phenomenal job in seamlessly scaling up the service to meet this demand during an exceptionally difficult period.

“I would like to extend my thanks to all those who have supported our work – the response over these past few months has been both staggering and humbling, and we could not do what we do without their assistance.”

To find out more and donate to FareShare Central & South East Scotland, visit: www.cyrenians.scot/community-and-food/good-food/fareshare.

Cyrenians FareShare depot in Leith redistributes record food load

In the past month, the Cyrenians FareShare depot in Leith has redistributed a record-breaking 164 tonnes of food in response to a huge increase in demand during the covid19 pandemic – over a three-fold increase compared to April last year.

This week local MSP Ben Macpherson visited on his daily walk to thank staff and volunteers for safely supporting his constituents, and so many others across the Lothians, at this challenging time.

Cyrenians tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness. Building community through food and tackling food poverty is a large part of their work – through their FareShare depot in Leith, the charity redistributes surplus food from the supply chain to charities and community groups across Central and South East Scotland.

Lynne Collie, Service Manager, praised the response from the wider community: “Alongside our emergency fundraising appeal, we put a call-out at the start of this pandemic for food producers and suppliers to get in touch if they could help out so that we could meet demand.

The response has been phenomenal, and I would like to thank each and every person who has donated food, money, and time to our depot.

“I’d also like to pay tribute to my team of staff and volunteers, who have done an amazing job in scaling up the operation to meet the increased demand.”

In addition to this, Cyrenians Community Cook School, situated on Jane Street opposite their Fareshare depot, has been transformed into a production kitchen supporting their efforts to tackle food inequality.

Since the pandemic hit, the cook school have been cooking on average 700 healthy, freezer-ready meals a day, with support from local chefs, to distribute to those at-risk and frontline workers across the city.

Ewan Aitken, CEO of Cyrenians, said, “This pandemic is highlighting the stark inequalities that exist in society – those trapped in poverty are at greater risk of both the virus itself and the economic fallout, and we’re seeing more and more people making impossible choices, like whether to put food on the table or whether to pay for bills or rent.

“It’s also highlighted just how interdependent we all are, and I hope that, as we rebuild following this crisis, that legacy will endure.

“We can prevent homelessness, and it is incumbent on all of us – from the grassroots to national governments – to do so. I would like to thank the Scottish Government amongst others for their support to get food to those who need it.”

Ben Macpherson MSP said, “It was uplifting to see first-hand what staff and volunteers at the Cyrenians FareShare depot in Leith are doing to safely help many of my constituents and people in need across the Lothians, supported by funding from the Scottish Government and generous donations from many different companies and individuals.

“I’m inspired by the work that the Cyrenians does both in and from my constituency, and am grateful to everyone involved with FareShare for supporting vulnerable people and communities at this difficult time”

To find out more about Cyrenians’ emergency appeal, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Covid19CrisisAppeal

Cyrenians raises over £200,000 towards emergency appeal

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cyrenians launched an emergency appeal to enable the charity to respond effectively to the crisis. Thanks to support from individuals and businesses across Scotland, they are already over 80% of the way towards their £250,000 target.

Cyrenians tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness. In the past 6 weeks, Cyrenians have helped house rough sleepers into self-contained hotel accommodation and are continuing to provide support alongside partner organisations.

They are also delivering up to 40 tonnes of food a week to charities and community groups across central and south east Scotland from their Fareshare depot in Leith. Just across the road, their repurposed cook school is producing up to a 1000 healthy, freezer-friendly ready-meals a day.

CEO Ewan Aitken said; “The response from communities across Scotland to this crisis has been outstanding. People have responded with a real sense of compassion, knowing that more than ever now is the time to pull together.

“We knew that responding to this would stretch already-limited resources, and so we set an ambitious goal to ensure we could continue providing our critical services and allow us to respond flexibly – providing support where it’s needed most.

“We’ve been humbled by the number of donations we’ve received – from individuals donating their weekly coffee or monthly gym membership fees, to businesses donating larger sums that have allowed us to overhaul the way we work.

“Standard Life Aberdeen have been supporters of ours since before this crisis, and, when Covid-19 hit, they were quick to reach out to offer generous additional support, allowing us to continue caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of everyone at Cyrenians – support like this makes our work possible”

Sandy MacDonald from Standard Life Aberdeen said, “Cyrenians acted quickly in a time of great need, adapting their business model so they can get thousands of meals to those who need it most.

“We’re delighted to play our part in helping them achieve their aim to serve 40,000 meals in the next 100 days. Well done to all those involved and thank you from all of us to the team at Cyrenians for continuing their vital support in our community at this challenging time”

To find out more about Cyrenians’ emergency appeal, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Covid19CrisisAppeal

Ditch yer auld baffies at Big Slipper Event!

Older residents in Edinburgh are being encouraged to trade in their old slippers for a brand new pair, free of charge.

Big slipper event!

As part of a community initiative in Leith, a ‘Big Slipper’ social day is taking place this Monday (18 November) at Easter Road stadium. Continue reading Ditch yer auld baffies at Big Slipper Event!

Cyrenians break target of delivering one million meals

In the past year, the Cyrenians Fareshare depot has redistributed over 450 tonnes of surplus food to charities and community groups across Central and South East Scotland – breaking their target of delivering ONE MILLION MEALS in their 20th year. Continue reading Cyrenians break target of delivering one million meals