Features / Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2021
Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2021, day 17: Aid Box Community
Aid Box Community’s vision is one of a world where every refugee and asylum seeker is given the opportunity to start a new life.
From its hub on Cheltenham Road, the grassroots charity is working to make that a reality in Bristol, providing people with support and supplies and “a place to belong”.
The ever-popular Refutrees, a scheme run each year to help fund Aid Box Community’s (ABC) vital work, are all but sold out for 2021 but there may just be some mistletoe and mugs left in the shop for those seeking some last minute festive decorations or gifts.
Set up by Imogen Mcintosh in 2015, ABC has grown from a group of volunteers collecting basic essentials for people stranded in Calais’ refugee camp to a well-established charity with a welcome hub and free shop.
The free shop is a place where vulnerable and impoverished refugees and asylum seekers can come to get clothes, shoes, household items, food, and other essentials. The aim is to help them live more comfortably as they settle in Bristol.
“From our hub on Cheltenham Road, we provide people seeking asylum and refugees a place to belong, be part of a warm, friendly and vibrant community,” says Imogen.
“We have a free shop where people can access free essential living items, activity groups and a befriending program linking local people with people settling in Bristol for friendship. We are a charity full with love and hope and we are powered by people.”
Main photo courtesy of Aid Box Community
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