This Ramadhaan we put out an appeal for Eid gift donations for children. We received a fabulous number of beautiful gift donations of books and toys, in addition to donations via the website. We realised there was also a need to provide gifts for adults, so we extended our appeal to include gifts and donations for men and women too.

We are happy to announce we were able to distribute a total of 592 gifts to the men,
women and child refugees, asylum seekers and needy families throughout Greater Manchester.

As always, we are humbled and overwhelmed by the support and donations, by the volunteers who packed.and delivered and all those who made du’aa.

JazakumAllaah khayr – may it weigh heavily on your book of good deeds.

Oldham Food Aid Hub has been running from the Oldham Unitarian Chapel for 5 years supporting people from Oldham with a variety of issues and concerns. Providing Food Parcels, Hot Food a sign Posting Services as well as advice has been an essential part of the service which earned UKEFF the title of Oldham’s 4th Emergency Service at the house of Lords Since Covid-19 UKEFF has changed its strategy and opened up a helpline to deliver food, advice and cash top ups for utility bills for the people who are vulnerable and needy in our society.

UKEFF has worked closely with other organisations and services to continue its services essentially for DV Victims, Destitute people and anyone who has no recourse to public funds.
As you can imagine UKEFF is more stretched than ever before and is inundated with calls and emails. As Muslims we are taught that in times that test, we must change the way we work and adapt to serve the people around us differently. We continue today in unprecedented times to serve the homeless, needy and most vulnerable who reside beside us, Islam teaches us that He is NOT Muslim who goes to bed satisfied whilst his neighbour goes hungry.

We try our utmost to live by this every single day, we are especially grateful to our real heroes who are the backbone of UKEFF and that is all the wonderful volunteers and donors that have supported us throughout our journey and continue to support us even today.

 

 

Here’s what we got up to on Christmas Eve

 

Here’s a quick look at our activities at Oldham Food Aid Hub at the Oldham Unitarian Chapel on Christmas Day

And some feedback from some of those who were involved

 

Come in from the cold…

On Christmas Day, local Oldham charity UKeff (the UK Education and Faith Foundation) will be welcoming those who are struggling at this time of year, to join them at their 6th annual Christmas Day breakfast and lunch. Hosted at the Oldham Unitarian Chapel, the day is organised and run entirely by the same UKeff volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year on numerous projects, including the flagship Oldham Food Aid Hub.

Co-founder Nasim Ashraf commented, “For those of us who are able to enjoy the season, it really can be a wonderful time to spend with family and friends. Sadly, not everyone is fortunate to escape the skyrocketing utility bills, the increased cost of food and the additional stressors that often put families in challenging situations. Forced to stretch their budgets to the very max, many families make costly sacrifices, like going without food or heat.

“During the Christmas season we have been spreading the cheer with food parcels, hot food, presents, warm clothes, travel costs and even top ups for gas and electric meters. Preventing homelessness, deprivation, self-harm or even suicide, whilst addressing the peoples need in crisis is our primary objective.”

UKeff support a large number of needy families and individuals in the Oldham area. Service users come from a diverse range of socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities and faiths. Amongst them are the homeless, asylum seekers, refugees, domestic abuse victims, substance users, destitute families and individuals, the elderly and lonely persons. The year-round problems are exacerbated at this time of year and the demand for this Christmas Day provision by UKeff is stronger than ever.

Community Engagement and Support Services Manager, and co-founder Ms Hafizan Zaman says UKeff will open their doors from 10.30am on Christmas morning, providing a warm, friendly welcome in a safe, comfortable setting. “We will serve hot drinks and snacks throughout the morning, providing company and the opportunity to socialise for some of the most isolated and vulnerable members of our community,” Ms Zaman added. “We will serve a freshly made turkey dinner, and vegetarian options, at 12.30pm, plus takeaways at the end of the day.”

The recent coverage of Oldham College students and the BBC visiting 78-year old Terrence in his Oldham home highlights the importance of reaching out to those who are alone and to make an extra effort to help.

UKeff’s Community Co-ordinator Aisha Abdulkarim noted, “We currently have over 160 Oldham families living in temporary accommodation, and most of these have no cooking facilities, with just one room and bathroom to share. Christmas is not a day to look forward to for families in this situation, it is more likely to be a day to dread. To be able to offer a day to people where these worries can be lifted, where the children will have presents, everyone can enjoy home-cooked food, and they can relax together in a safe, warm environment, is truly priceless and is surely the true essence of Christmas.”

Monetary and gift donations are gratefully accepted and can be made online at www.ukeff.org/donate or can be dropped off at the UKeff charity shop at 72 Yorkshire Street, Oldham, OL1 1SR.

If you know someone who is lonely or struggling please feel more than welcome to make a referral via the online referral form at www.ukeff.org/christmas19

 

Since we launched the Winter Survival Appeal, we have been able to pay to carpet the home of a single mum and her young son. They had been living in a home with bare floorboards which as you can imagine was very draughty and cold. Your generous donations mean that they will now have a much warmer home this winter. Thank you for your ongoing support!

 

Due to increased demand by service users over the Christmas period, UKeff organized 3 days of additional activities and provisions, in addition to the regular Monday Oldham Food Aid Hub. The activities were held in the usual venue of Oldham Unitarian Chapel and were a means to provide the homeless and needy of our community with a safe, warm place to receive assistance and to enjoy a friendly, festive atmosphere.

Many of UKeff’s service users are homeless – either living in temporary accommodation, ‘sofa-surfing’, or rough sleeping. Substance abuse is a frequent issue and so are the subsequent physical and mental health problems which follow. UKeff also assists those at risk of homelessness, domestic abuse victims and their children, vulnerable and disadvantaged adults, the lonely and elderly, individuals and families suffering economic hardship and food poverty, and refugees and destitute asylum seekers. In addition to registered UKeff service users, other local agencies were contacted during December with details of the activities and a referral form.

On 25^th December, UKeff Co-founder Nasim Ashraf was invited to address the congregation at Oldham Parish Church, where he highlighted the work of UKeff to help the needy of our community. This was televised live on BBC1 as part of the Christmas day service viewed by millions across Britain, you can watch the Muslim Message by clicking here

You can see a short video here and read our full report here Xmas18

 

 

This years Winter Survival Appeal once again aims to bring relief to families and individuals who are struggling with so many of the hardships associated with this time of year.

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online – from your weekly shop to your annual holiday – you could be raising free donations for UKeff with easyfundraising?

There are over 4,000 shops and sites on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.

All you need to do is:

1. Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ukeff/?utm_campaign=raise-more and join for free.

2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.

3. After you’ve checked out, the retailer will make a donation to UKeff at no extra cost to you whatsoever!

There are no catches or hidden charges and UKeff will be really grateful for your donations.

Thank you for your support.

We had our AGM a little late this year but we were completely blown away by the stats and the amount of support that UKeff Volunteers have managed to offer in just 12 months.

This clearly shows that grass root organisations like UKeff are often unrecognised for the vital support they give tirelessly to their service users, these very same services users then become part of the family and start giving back to their community.

Take a read of the full report below:

Over 60k Meals in just 2018

Saved the tax payer over nearly £75k in salaries

Over 1500 service users..

Click Here to View report