Keep refugees in Northern France fed, clothed and warm this winter.

Since early November, Calais and Dunkirk have been experiencing extreme cold and wet weather. There are currently over 3,500 displaced people sleeping mostly outside in the rain despite flood and storm warnings.

We urgently need your support to keep them fed, clothed and warm.

Every 24/48 hours, French police - funded by UX taxpayers - carry out violent evictions, often destroying people’s only belongings. People are sleeping in tents, with little access to fresh water, showers or toilets. Grassroots organisations are ignored by local authorities when they urge them to open emergency accommodation for dozens of families with young children sleeping rough.

Your donation can make an awful situation more bearable by providing essential services:

With £5, Refugee Community Kitchen can provide 2 large meals of rice or potatoes, a hearty main, fresh salad, as many health enhancing and delicious condiments.

With £10, Collective Aid can distribute blankets or sleeping bags to keep people dry.

With £15, Refugee Women’s Centre can provide children’s clothes, nappies and formula during their sessions with families.

The UK and French Governments want to divide us by scapegoating people fleeing war and persecution. But the reality is that without safe routes established, the UK Government is forcing people to take life-threatening routes to reach the UK and claim asylum. Meanwhile they are funding a campaign of hostility and intimidation on French shores.

We all want to live in peace and with dignity. That’s why for over 7 years, our members have been standing in solidarity with people abandoned by the state. But our funds are running extremely low - we urgently need your help to keep supporting people this winter.

We are a coalition of 7 organisations working from one central warehouse. Between them, our members help displaced people survive and access hot food, tents, warm clothing, water, food to cook, vital information, phone-charging emergency assistance and much much more in the border area. By donating today, you are maximising the impact you can have.

We also work to raise more awareness about the difficulties people face in the region, and are committed to putting your donation in the place where it can make the most impact. We support the people on our oorstep, and have this fundraiser so that you can too.

To volunteer, please check our website page where you can learn more and sign up with a member charity. Many welcome short-term volunteers over the Christmas / New Year period.

Use of funds - Thank you to ForRefugees for hosting this fundraiser for us for a 0% fee. Your donation is held by forRefugees and then requested by Calais Appeal once the fundraiser is complete. The seven members share the funds, or use them on common costs. Purchases and expenses include; food, tents, firewood, water, clothing, underwear, car fuel, volunteer houses and warehouse rent, fixing vehicles, team training, some salaries and more. For more details please feel free to contact Alice Corrigan, Fundraising Lead on funding@calaisappeal.org .

Media - We are open to media enquiries and interviews. For more information please contact Felix Thomson, Communications and Advocacy Lead on communications@calaisappeal.org .

Who are Calais Appeal?

We are a coalition of 7 organisations working in Northern France. We work closely together to fundraise and advocate for people on the move. Any donations to Calais Appeal will be split amongst our members, maximising your impact in supporting essential services this winter.

Our members carry out different essential work:

L’Auberge des Migrants runs two core projects. Each winter, The Woodyard distributes firewood to prevent frostbite, enable cooking and give warmth. Channel Info Project provides sim cards, phone-charging and information for undocumented people. Last winter, The Woodyard distributed over 400,000 kilos of firewood, and we expect this year to be even busier.

Calais Food Collective pack food bags and provide thousands of litres of water to people living in informal camps every week. They also document food and water insecurities, elements of police violence and campaign for change. CFC are the main charity providing water in the border region, not even the Government agrees to do it to the extent needed. They provide a service vital for people to live, drink, wash and clean in the border area.

Collective Aid was founded in Serbia in 2017. In Calais, they have a WASH centre for doing laundry and access to water and clothing, and conduct daily distributions of tents, and other warm items (blankets, sleeping bags, roll mats, tarpaulins, shoes…) when needed. Collective Aid are the key provider of tents to displaced people, and will distribute over 5,000 units for free this winter.

Project Play provides safe spaces for undocumented minors to play and learn. Their work promotes the healthy development of young people and helps them enjoy being children for some hours. Team members also engage in advocacy to improve the environment of displaced young people in northern France. Project Play are energised and working to bring some life and fun back into Calais, difficult to do in this situation, but so important for children and youth stuck in the border zone.

Refugee Community Kitchen has been working in the border region since 2015. A team of ever-changing volunteers deliver hot meals in mobile locations across Calais and Grande-Synthe five days a week. This work simply ensures that no one goes hungry in the border region. In November 2023, RCK have been distributing a massive 2,000 hot meals every day, and hopes to continue to do so with your support.

Refugee Women’s Centre has trained volunteers who assist undocumented women and families to access emergency shelters through a network of local hosts or pay for hostels after shipwreck. Refugee Women’s Centre also provides clothes, health referrals, supports women through legal and administrative procedures, accompanies them to hospitals, medical centres and showers. RWC creates safe spaces for women and young families, giving them a lifeline where otherwise almost none exists.

Utopia 56 runs a 24/7 emergency phone line and responds daily to emerging events including shipwreck, frostbite, denial of care from the public authorities and pleas for help from families and unaccompanied minors. They also conduct daily outreach, and give access to social, medical and legal assistance. Utopia 56 also runs five safe houses and engages in advocacy to defend the rights of asylum seekers and undocumented persons and to denounce the migration policy both in France and in Europe, as well as in awareness-raising targeting citizens and decision-makers. Utopia’s local team and volunteers are available around the clock, covering all needs during the nighttime, seven days a week. Their work reaches people during their most difficult times and brings solutions right when they are needed.