JCI Belfast’s William Redpath, Michael Lynch, Chris Dickison chatted with JCI UK National President James to share insights from their recent #CareforCalais project.

The project collected donations for the charity Care4Calais, recognising that the camps in Calais and in Dunkirk in northern France have a real sense of vulnerability in the current pandemic, since the living environment make things like social distancing and maintaining sanitary conditions very difficult.

The JCI Belfast team were blown away by the generosity of the local communities in gathering donations like tents, sanitisers, food, sleeping bags and camping equipment etc.

What inspired the Calais Covid Response Campaign?

Michael Lynch shared more about the inspiration for the project, through recognising that JCI is an organisation founded on the principle of wanting to have a positive impact in our respective communities and from an international perspective also.

How did you get started with the project?

Chris Dickison shared how they overcame the logistically challenges of getting their donations to Calais during the lockdown and how helpful the charity was in facilitating this. He also talked about the fantastic support they had from the local community, organisations and businesses not just in Belfast but across Northern Ireland.

Dropping off the donations

The team shared their experiences of drop off their donations and having more of an opportunity to see and hear stories from Nigel from #CareforCalais on why he’s so committed to helping those in the camps in Calais.

What’s next?

Michael shared how they wanted to continue supporting #CareforCalais in light of the ongoing need and the challenges that the charity faces as a result of the impact of COVID 19.