Thank you so much for wanting to donate to charity as your wedding gift to us. We would love you to give something to support two amazing charities – Refugee Community Kitchen and Mobile Refugee Support – both of which are doing essential work with refugees in Calais and Dunkirk.

Causes supporting refugees are close to our heart, as Emily has been working with Good Chance for the last year and a half – an experience that has changed her life – as has Pip in various different ways, from building theatre dome floors in the boiling sun to playing guitar in the pouring rain with the brilliant Sounds of Refuge musicians. Through this work, it has been wonderful to meet so many people with such resilience, generosity and hope – and we now have friends from all over the world, many of whom have been forced to leave their countries and travel across Europe to try and find safety. Some of these friends are now in the UK, some are trying to make lives for themselves in Paris, and almost all of them have experienced the hardships of Calais.

Good Chance started in the Jungle camp in Calais, and even though the camp itself has been dismantled and Good Chance is now working in other areas across France, the UK and beyond, there are currently over 2,000 refugees in Calais and Dunkirk, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, living in unimaginably harsh conditions. Refugees face nightly evictions where tents are slashed, and police action is making it more and more difficult to get much needed support to people in the area.

The charities we're supporting, Refugee Community Kitchen and Mobile Refugee Support, are two of the most dedicated, life-changing organisations working out in Calais and Dunkirk. Refugee Community Kitchen serves hot, nourishing meals and in doing so creates a much-needed sense of community and sharing. Mobile Refugee Support gives vital access to electricity and wifi so that people can contact their families wherever they are. They also do daily distributions of meals, supplies and, crucially, food packs to give people the chance to cook for themselves and regain a vital sense of independence. Both organisations are entirely reliant on donations and are run by volunteers. As well as the work we will both continue to do with Good Chance and many of the people we’ve met through the charity, we also want to continue to support those refugees still living in Calais today.

Thank you so much for donating. And we cannot wait to celebrate our wedding with you very soon!

With much love,

Emily and Pip x