Message from the Chair

TO: ALL OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS
OF THE DEVON & CORNWALL REFUGEE SUPPORT COUNCIL

Dear Friends,

AN OPEN APPEAL FOR DONATIONS AT HARVEST FESTIVAL TIME

I am writing to express the sincere thanks of all at DCRSC for the response to our urgent request for financial support last year. Your generosity saved us from immediate closure.

Sadly, our future is still not certain.   We hope and expect that we shall be able to carry on with our present budgeting until next year when there is a possibility of more substantial funding - but we have no guarantee of this.

We have scaled down our work to three salaried staff (but without a manager) and they, together with our team of volunteers, will do their very best to continue our work of giving advice, and distributing food and clothing to those asylum seekers and refugees in need.

Our Drop-in Centre is also a place where they will always get a warm welcome and a cup of tea, and be able to socialise with their friends or have access to the internet.   But for DCRSC they would be deprived of all these services and those whose appeals have failed would have no means of support at all.

As Harvest Festival approaches, we appeal to your generosity again for financial donations, as well as gifts in kind. Receiving gifts of food will mean that we can use the money which would otherwise have been spent on food, on other essential expenses.

Some additional notes are attached.   Thank you again for your wonderful support!

Yours sincerely,

(Original copy signed)
Mrs. Lorna M. Sewell

Chair
DCRSC Board of Trustees

Friday, 22^nd August 2008