The Emmaus Salford history starts in 2007 when a group of people came together with the aim of setting up an Emmaus community in the city.
Our first charity shop opened on Seaford Road in 2009 in order to raise funds towards premises for Emmaus Salford’s main community building. In those early days the Seaford Road shop was run by a dedicated team of local volunteers.
Our search for a suitable community home took many years of hard work and dedication. We finally secured a community building and what was to become our second shop on Fitzwarren Street, next to Salford Precinct.
With the help of our supporters and Salford City Council we were able to convert this disused building into the hub of our community. Now named Emmaus House, our community building provides a home and meaningful work for our companions.
Our first core companions moved into Emmaus House in September 2014. The community building was officially opened by Terry Waite CBE in May 2015. We now have 26 bedrooms, a communal lounge, dining room and a kitchen.
In 2016 we were awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for the role our volunteers played in establishing Emmaus Salford. The following year we opened the Emmaus Salford Emporium in Swinton. In 2017 we also moved our main social enterprise operations to a workshop space near Media City, and launched Lucie’s Pantry social supermarket.
In 2020, Lucie’s Pantry was expanded to support more members and, as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, offer a delivery service. Our team not only delivered food and essentials to pantry members, we were also involved in the distribution of food packs to vulnerable households across Salford.
During 2020 we also opened The People’s Pods to support people who are sleeping rough. The four pods, run in partnership with Salford City Council, allow people to enjoy a safe and comfortable night’s sleep and access further support from outreach workers.
Today Emmaus Salford is a thriving community and great resource for the residents of Salford. Companions run all aspects of our social enterprises, from serving customers to carrying out deliveries and collections. Our companions also work in the community building, cooking meals and tending to our communal garden.
You can read more about the Emmaus Salford history in this illustrated booklet produced by Len Grant.
Emmaus isn’t just based in the UK. In fact it originally started in France in the late 1940s. Since then, Emmaus has grown into a international movement with more than 410 groups based in 41 countries.