I’m delighted to confirm that we have exceeded the fundraising target of £100,000 that we needed to reach by the end of 2019, and we still have 7 weeks still to go! We are doing a small dance of celebration in the office and we cannot thank you enough for the amazing support, kindness and generosity everyone has shown during this campaign. The Food Chain family certainly came together this summer and showed our strength.
It’s a great achievement and we can all feel proud to be part of it.
The Food Chain is all about providing help when help is most needed, and this appeal embodies that underpinning principle. We needed help ourselves, and our community has provided it. We are very grateful indeed and we will do justice to the trust that has been placed in us by continuing to provide the best possible food and nutrition support services for people living with HIV in London at times of real need.
At the time of writing, the amount raised through our public appeal has reached £62,000 which is just an amazing amount. The confirmation of grants from the MAC Aids Fund and the City Bridge Trust are the other two pieces of the jigsaw that take us over the £100,000 mark for this year.
At The Food Chain we see and hear every day how the barriers to living a long and healthy life with HIV are multiple and complex for the people we support. At times these seem insurmountable and the support we are able to provide goes some way to changing that. It is of great importance that safety-net services like ours remain in place so that everybody in London living with HIV has a chance to live well and nobody gets left behind. The success of our fundraising appeal makes it possible for us to continue providing this essential safety net.
On a personal note, I can’t think of any other time in my working life when I have felt a greater sense of achievement and reward than this year, as we have steered our way through the choppiest of waters. I know that the funding climate remains very stormy, and there is still much to do to sustain our services for as long as they are needed. The knowledge that so many individuals, organisations and funders’ appreciate the value and impact of the work we do at The Food Chain gives me great confidence that we will be able to achieve sustainability. We are a strong team in all respects, with a clear focus on our charitable purpose, and that will stand us in good stead in the years ahead.
The other good news this month is that we now have an agreement with the new owners of Acorn House that means we will be able to stay in the kitchen until around this time next year. We are pleased to be able to go on making the most of the fantastic space we have created in the Acorn House kitchen.
It is a real haven for our service users and a great venue for our fundraising activities too.
The extra time we have here will be put to good use making sure we can recreate an equally warm and welcoming space in our future kitchen.
With World Aids Day just a few weeks away, and Christmas not far beyond that I hope to see you at a Food Chain event in the coming weeks.
It will be a pleasure to say thank you in person for all your support and encouragement.
2019 will be a memorable year for all of us!