Emmanuel House served 109 Christmas dinners (with all the trimmings!) on Christmas Day last year thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters. Behind the happy scene however are the individual stories of hardship, loss, poor health -mental and physical- and lack of a stable base or home. The winter months  this year are going to be even harder because changes to the benefit system, lack of affordable accommodation and rising food  prices make life even harder for this vulnerable group.

Emmanuel House is committed to keeping pace with the need and we need to increase  our funding . We serve of 80 hot meals every day, help with benefits, accommodation and health issues and also manage the emergency accommodation Winter Shelter for rough sleepers between November and February.

The Cup Of Kindness campaign encourages everyone to donate £1 whenever they enjoy a Christmas party of festive event between now and the end of January. This means families, friends, schools, offices and organisations across the city can take part by adding an extra £1 per person to the cost of a meal, or by providing a collection box at events for voluntary donations.

Last year’s Winter Shelter was open for 5 months, the longest period ever and provided a total of 2,620 nights protecting 166 individuals from the winter weather. Moreover, 55% of our guests had slept rough the previous night, and the rest were at serious risk of doing so.

You can help us to make life less harsh and even provide real opportunities for Nottingham’s homeless and vulnerably housed citizens. Please include them in your work and family celebrations by donating £1 or more to the Cup of Kindness appeal.