Catching Lives Latest News: August 2025
- Catching Lives
- Aug 29
- 3 min read
Help us this Harvest Festival
This is your August update from Catching Lives. After many years as part of the Catching Lives team, making a difference for people who are homeless, Paul has moved on to lead Thanington Resource Centre. We also bid farewell to Greg. We thank them both for their hard work and wish them the best for the future.
It’s that time of year again… Harvest Festival! We’re seeking donations of essential food items to help stock our pantry and provide year-round support to people experiencing homelessness. Harvest Festival is an important time for Catching Lives, as these donations help us to serve breakfast, lunch and refreshments every day through the rest of the year.
Items we need most: coffee, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, hot chocolate, chocolate spread, honey, marmite, biscuits, sugar, custard, squash and cereal. Please bring donations, ideally in a strong ‘bag for life’, to our Day Centre in Station Road East any day between 9am and 4pm (until 1.30pm on Wednesdays.) We welcome your generous Harvest Festival collections from churches, schools and local groups. Click here to find out more information.
Last chance to apply!
Job openings at Catching Lives are closing very soon. Our Project Worker (Sat-Weds) recruitment closes on 1 September. Recruitment for a Chair of our Board and general trustees closes on 4 September. Here are 10 reasons to join the Catching Lives Board. Follow the links for: Locum Project Workers | Chair and Trustees | Project Worker (Sat-Weds).
Fresh Clothes, Fresh Start final call
We have passed the 50% mark and are £645 off reaching the target of the Fresh Clothes, Fresh Start matched giving appeal. Thank you for supporting us. If we raise £645, that will be match funded to reach our £3,000 target.
Clean clothes help people maintain their dignity and well-being while homeless. We also wash towels from our showers, and aprons and tea towels from the kitchen. Last year we did nearly 3000 loads of laundry and need a commercial washing machine to cope with demand!
Meet the volunteers
L-R volunteers Tam, Maria and Anne / Tuesday volunteer team Anne and Julie.
Our Meet the volunteers feature celebrates the amazing people at the heart of Catching Lives. Anne Post has been volunteering with us for nearly 10 years. Catching Lives Volunteer Coordinator Rosie Bartlett says: “Anne is an absolute asset to our volunteer team. She shows up every Tuesday with her regular Tuesday team and they have a great relationship with the clients. She also volunteers regularly on Saturdays when we are low on volunteers. I often tell her how lost we would be without her!”
How did you hear about the volunteering opportunity?
My friend asked if I would help with cooking for the night shelter. I went on to volunteer in the daytime kitchen.
What are some joys you have experienced since starting with Catching Lives?
Seeing clients get accommodation, helping in the community, made new friends with other volunteers.
What would you say to someone thinking about volunteering with Catching Lives?
Try it you'll work with some interesting people from all walks of life and make new friends.
Outside of Catching Lives, how do you like to spend your time?
Meeting up with friends, reading, knitting, crocheting, watching TV.
What is your previous line of work/study?
When I left school I went to work in a bank. Then after 30 years took redundancy and, after training, ended up as a primary school teaching assistant.
Volunteering Stats for August
A big thank you to all our volunteers!
Meet Vicky's Art Club's Vicky Dyball
Artist Vicky Dyball, who works at Rock Paper Scissors, runs Vicky's Art Club workshops twice a month at Catching Lives. Miriam Ellis, Activity Coordinator at Catching Lives, said: "In Vicky’s Art Class, participants explore new and interesting creative techniques every week. Her lessons are always filled with warmth and plenty of laughter." Read more here.
Thank you
We've had a lot of donations of food and clothing in recent weeks so thank you to everyone for being lovely!
Also, we received this feedback from one of our clients: "Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who worked so hard to secure me emergency accommodation. It's transformed my life for the better!"
For more regular updates, please do keep an eye on our website, Facebook and Instagram for more updates until we write to you again in September
