Grant helps Sunderland charity help more refugees and asylum seekers

Attendees at the Sunderland-based charity, Friends of the Drop-In for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (FODI),

Friends of the Drop-In for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (FODI), can now fund a new project development worker with the help of a £55,000 grant over three years from Lloyds Bank Foundation.

FODI helps new refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the area access local services, improve their English and integrates them into the community.

Support at the Sunderland-based charity, Friends of the Drop-In for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (FODI),

Integrating the new refugees and asylum seekers into the community ensures they have a safe place to go to reduce their social isolation, meet friends and access local services.

The new project development worker will help recruit, manage and train local volunteers, develop the services currently on offer and gain more reach in the local community.

FODI has been running for five years and signposts people to where they can find help with their problems like seeking accommodation and employment.

With the help of funding from Lloyds Bank Foundation, FODI will be able to cover some of the costs of its weekly drop-in centre, including providing learning and helping opportunities.

Felicity Livsey, Chairperson of FODI, said: “We are really grateful and excited to have been granted this money, which will allow us to recruit a project development worker who will help us to continue and expand our activities.”

Paul Streets, CEO of Lloyds Bank Foundation, said: “As highlighted in our recent research, small and medium-sized charities have been hit hardest by changes to public funding yet at the same time, demand for their services has risen.

“We are more committed than ever to providing vital funding to charities like Friends of the Drop-In for Asylum Seekers and Refugees, allowing them to grow and thrive, and to reach and help the people that really rely on them.”

The £55,000 grant made to Friends of the Drop-In for Asylum Seekers and Refugees was one of 90 totalling £4,014,903 made to small and medium-sized charities across England and Wales in the first of three annual grant rounds, including seven grants totalling £402,753 awarded across the North East of England.

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is the largest corporate foundation in the UK and an independent charity funded by Lloyds Banking Group as part of the Helping Britain Prosper Plan.