Starting Friday 28 November, donations to The Archer Project will have double the impact, as Aviva’s Community Fund has pledged to match every payment up to £250, until December 31.
The Archer Project, one of Sheffield’s most esteemed charities for the homeless, helping hundreds of people to stabilise their lives and find secure homes each year, will also be running a series of events and initiatives this winter to help keep people warm during the coldest months of the year.
Joe Logan, Head of Fundraising for The Archer Project, emphasised why donations are so crucial: “We’re providing respite from really harsh conditions during the winter months. This is a really tough time of year for people we support.
“Loneliness and rejection are particularly exaggerated right now so having space for people who are excluded to come and feel part of a community is so important, it saves lives.”
In 2025 so far, The Archer Project has helped 972 individuals, served 15,888 meals, and delivered 178 different enrichment activities – all possible because of generous donations from the public.
Along with the doubled donations, the project is running Concrete Dreamz Exhibition, held in Bethel Chapel from Friday 28 November to Friday 12 December, open daily 9am-4pm.
The exhibition mimics a mattress showroom; except every bed is an unforgiving concrete slab. The aim is to impress upon people the extreme hardship and discomfort that accompanies living on the streets, and to encourage ordinary people to consider what they may have to give from their comparatively luxurious lives.
In a heartfelt letter to the project, Perminus Ndegwa thanked them for their help and highlighted the real, direct impact that the charity has had on people: “Thank you for seeing me when I felt invisible. For offering dignity, warmth, and a place where I felt safe to just be. Thank you for being a shelter not just from the cold, but from despair.”
The Archer Project will also be running a Christmas Carol Service at Sheffield Cathedral on Friday 12 December from 12:30-1:30pm, where they encourage people to get involved with ‘songs, stories, and soup’ and to share in some community spirit during the runup to Christmas.
There are many ways to give to the charity, whether that be with your money, your time as a volunteer, or through donating much-needed items from their supply list (which is published regularly on their social media).
Their work can directly save lives in the harsh winter months. Last year, 1,611 people were reported as having died in the UK whilst experiencing homelessness.
Donations during their Winter Campaign not only mean that more help is available to those in need at this most crucial time of year, but each donation goes twice as far, with Aviva’s support.
Pledge your support and donate here.
