Emmaus South Manchester has joined a nationwide call for kindness to support people in need, as part of an international campaign.
Our volunteers and staff are campaigning with supporters to highlight how ordinary acts of kindness can make an extraordinary difference. The campaign suggests ways to support a global Uprising of Kindness, including being more kind to people in need, more kind to the environment and more kind to yourself.
Thursday 1 February marked the 70th anniversary of Emmaus founder Abbé Pierre’s Uprising of Kindness radio appeal in Paris that sparked an outpouring of generosity and positive change. This month, we are carrying out a range of activities to support people in need in Wythenshawe as part of this year’s Uprising of Kindness.
Gavin Bryson, Operations Supervisor at Emmaus South Manchester, said: “Emmaus South Manchester receives kindness week in, week out, from our friends, supporters, volunteers, shoppers and people who donate items. As we mark 70 years since Abbé Pierre’s public appeal, his radio message is still just as relevant in 2024.”
“To support people who are struggling through the cost-of-living crisis, this week we held a £1 sale on all clothes at our Wythenshawe Emporium. We also donated a day’s takings to local groups supporting people in desperate need and encouraging our supporters to donate non-perishable food to our local food bank.”
The Emmaus South Manchester Emporium sells a wide range of furniture, fashion, bric-a-brac, toys, music and handmade items. The charity store is helping us towards our goal of opening a new Emmaus community to support people who have experienced homelessness and those suffering social exclusion.
Kindness across the world
Emmaus South Manchester is part of a worldwide movement of over 400 Emmaus groups, working to help the most excluded and tackling the causes of poverty. Across the UK, other Emmaus communities are taking part in a range of activities to raise awareness of injustice, support people in need and carry out acts of kindness in their areas.
In a freezing winter of 1954, France was experiencing a serious housing crisis and thousands of people were sleeping on the streets. Outraged at the situation, Emmaus founder Abbé Pierre launched a radio appeal that sparked a historic outpouring of generosity and prompted the government to finally take action to protect the homeless.
Find out more about the Emmaus Uprising of Kindness and how to get involved.