Emmaus South Wales is celebrating after receiving a £10,000 grant from The Charities Aid Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund to help support the charity’s solidarity work during the pandemic.
The fund has been set up to help smaller charitable organisations in the UK affected by the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) and has made grants to more than 500 charitable organisations, totalling £2.9 million.
Emmaus South Wales supports people who have previously been homeless by offering a place to live within a communal setting and the opportunity to gain new skills by working in its five charity shops.
The charity lost its primary income when it had to temporarily close all five shops due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emmaus will begin a phased re-opening from Monday 20 July, making the closure 17 weeks long.
Despite the challenging time, Emmaus South Wales has continued to support the people in its community, who are known as companions, with a home for as long as they need and day-to-day support. In addition to this, the Emmaus has continued to carry out solidarity activities to make a contribution to the wider community.
The £10,000 grant from CAF’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund will go towards the cost of the charity’s warehouse and in turn will help Emmaus to continue offering its solidarity furniture service, which provides discounted or free items to vulnerable and marginalised people to help them furnish a home.
Another solidarity activity that this grant will help to support is the making and distributing of the charity’s ‘Rainbow Packs’ which are made up of games and puzzles and delivered free of charge to local households in isolation.
Jemma Wray, Chief Executive at Emmaus South Wales, said:
“At Emmaus, Solidarity means supporting others with their struggles and this ethos can be very valuable to our companions as it often key to helping build self-esteem, proving that everyone has the capacity to make a difference to the lives of others. We are extremely grateful to CAF for choosing to fund our charity and help us continue our solidarity activities at a time when helping each other is more important than ever.”
Monica Brown, CAF’s Head of Charity Advisory and Programmes, said:
“The Charities Aid Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund was set up to help small charities, non-profits and social enterprises that were struggling amid the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were very pleased and proud to be able to offer assistance to Emmaus South Wales to help support the charity’s solidarity work during this challenging time.”
To find out more about CAF, visit here.
To find out more about the phased re-opening of Emmaus South Wales, visit here.