DONATIONS PAUSED

Following an appeal for donations of items and clothes for individuals arriving from Afghanistan, Essex County Council have now paused donations due to the overwhelming kindness of our residents.

ECC kindly ask that you do not take donations to the centres listed online. We will update this page as soon as these donation points are ready to begin receiving donations again.

If you want to make a financial donation to support the Refugee Crisis, a number of international charities are making appeals. The Red Cross appeal can be found here.

Thank you for all your calls and emails regarding the above and Chelmsford’s response. The CVS is working with the City Council, Chelmsford Muslim Society, Essex Red Cross, and ECC to coordinate a local response to donations.   

We will be guided by the Red Cross on what is needed by families coming into Chelmsford/Essex and will publish a list of wants and needs on our website, Twitter and FB pages that will be tailored to the needs assessment of families.  Chelmsford Muslim Society has kindly offered space as a donation point for needed items, and we will publish wants and needs and Donation Drop days and times on this page and our social media.  

Currently, the families recently arrived here are being supported and don’t have any urgent needs, but the situation may be very different for future arrivals.  If you would like to donate, or know anyone who does, please direct them, in the first instance, to our Community Resilience Helpline on 01245 280731 where they will be able to obtain a list of the most urgently needed items These can then be dropped off at Hamptons Sport & Leisure Centre between 1pm and 3pm on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 Only (for now).