Back in March, as the country went into lockdown, we were facing some very tough decisions.
On one hand we were anticipating the mental health impact of lockdown, the pressures that school closures, social isolation and working from home would put on young people and their families, but on the other it was already becoming clear that our income would suffer too. Some trust funds were being frozen, our fundraising events would have to be cancelled and our shop would have to close.
After some quick calculations based on predicted incomes, we realised we were facing a deficit of £30,000 between the beginning of April and the end of June. And this on top of what had already been a particularly challenging 9 months for our finances.
In some ways it would have been easy to use the furlough scheme and put The Door in stasis for a few months, but we felt so strongly that the needs of the communities we serve were too great to do that. So we did what The Door does best, we followed the need and did what we could, unfortunately, some of the team were furloughed as youth club sessions stopped and the shop closed, but the bulk of staff stayed working (reducing hours and pay in some cases).
We truly believed that the right thing to do was try everything to #KeepTheDoorOpen. As a Christian organisation we often get the sense that God is leading us into some unusual decisions, but faith and trust in Him is enough to follow.
As a team, we got wholeheartedly behind the work that our youthworkers, mentors and volunteers were doing to develop innovative ways to serve and support people and together we got stuck in to finding ways to raise the money in order to do so.
Usually a campaign like #KeepTheDoorOpen would be given months of planning, but we launched it in a matter of days, asking the public to put their hands into their pockets to help us help those in need. And they responded. You responded.
You have all amazed and humbled us. In amongst the confusion, pain, grief and suffering of COVID-19 has emerged generosity, care, love and hope. Together we are changing the lives of local young people and families.
So whether you walked that 100km in May or sponsored someone else that did, joined in our quiz night, donated your pocket money or sold your stuff on ebay I want to say thank you to you, and every single person who has donated to The Door over the past 3 months not matter how big or small. You are amazing. You have kept The Door OPEN and we love you.
As lockdown eases and The Door Shop re-opens we have reached that astronomical target of £30,000 in donations in fact we’ve even surpassed it and we’ve also received some emergency grants too.
Of course, the future is massively uncertain. We still have some tough targets to meet in the coming months, and finances are always tight.
We also know that over the next 6 months some of the fall-out from lockdown in terms of mental health, young people’s development and family cohesion is going to be severe and we want to be ready to help people deal with all of that. The challenge doesn’t go away.
But together we will #KeepTheDoorOpen
Barrie Voyce (Director) on behalf of everyone at The Door
Ways you can help #KeepTheDoorOpen for the weeks, months and years to come.