John Lewis & Partners Announce Support For Leeds Homelessness Charity

Partners (staff) at John Lewis & Partners Leeds have selected homelessness charity Emmaus Leeds as their charity of the year.

Emmaus Leeds is a charity that provides a home, work experience and support to people who have experienced homelessness. The John Lewis Partnership will cover a wide range of initiatives to help raise awareness and funds, alongside offering training and development opportunities to Emmaus Leeds.

Anne Wyman, Community Liaison Coordinator at John Lewis & Partners Leeds, said: “We are excited to support Emmaus this year through a number of Partner-led fundraising activities. Emmaus is a charity right on our door step that already does amazing work within the community, and we are looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”

Donald Forrester, Chief Executive of Emmaus Leeds, said: “The Emmaus Leeds community is extremely honoured to have been selected as charity of the year by John Lewis & Partners.”

“We are very excited by the potential ways in which Partners at John Lewis & Partners Leeds can support our charity and offer direct opportunities to our beneficiaries. As a large retail organisation, it is also hoped that their expertise will help in the continued development of the Emmaus Leeds social enterprise.”

Emmaus Leeds supports 26 formerly homeless people by providing them with a stable home and meaningful work for as long as they need it. The charity has its main community building and social enterprise on St Mary’s Street, a stall at Kirkgate Market and a charity shop in Halton.


About Emmaus

Emmaus supports formerly homeless people by giving them a home, meaningful work in a social enterprise and an opportunity to regain lost self-esteem to help rebuild their lives. There are currently 29 Emmaus communities across the country, supporting more than 800 companions (formerly homeless people) in the UK. In addition, there are four Emmaus groups, all of which are working towards setting up an Emmaus community in their area. Emmaus aims to offer 1,000 companion places by 2020.
Social enterprise is central to the Emmaus model as it provides meaningful work for companions but also generates funding to maintain communities. Companions living in Emmaus communities are expected to sign off all benefits, with the exception of housing benefit, which is used to help to support the community. The rest of the funding that is needed is generated through social enterprise and fundraising.
Emmaus communities deliver a significant return on investment. Research shows that for every £1 invested in a community, there is an £11 return, with savings to the benefits bill, health services and a reduction in crime reoffending.

To find out more about the work of Emmaus Leeds head to www.emmaus.org.uk/leeds. For more information, to donate an item or get involved as a volunteer call 0113 248 4288 or visit Emmaus Leeds at St Mary’s Street, Leeds, LS9 7DP.