In this post, we have written you a guide to some of the fantastic charities in Bristol.
This guide also presents volunteering opportunities in Bristol and many ways to get involved in supporting these charities, through donations, time, where you shop, fundraising and gifts in a will.
These tables list some of the charities discussed below. Scroll down for a description of the great work the charities do, how to access their help and how to support their mission.
| CHARITY (Category) | MISSION |
| Housing | |
| Emmaus | Ending homelessness – alternative living accommodation |
| Julain Trust night shelter | A night shelter to support homeless people |
| Mungos | Ending homelessness and rebuilding lives |
| Caring In Bristol | Ending Homelessness – Young homeless people, food services, research |
| Help Bristol Homelessness | Ending homelessness- emergency care/ temporary accommodation |
The next table covers health and old age charities in Bristol
| Old Age | |
| Alive activities | Improving the lives of older people and their carers |
| Age UK Bristol | Helping people age better |
| Health/Hospital | |
| Bristol and Weston hospitals charity | Bringing moments of joy and comfort to those in need. |
| The Grand appeal- Bristol children’s hospitals | Life-saving equipment, research and well-being support |
| Young and Free Charity | Integration for young people with disabilities |
This next table presents some great community and food-related charities in Bristol
| Community | |
| Love Bristol | Church with a passion for creating a caring community |
| Food | |
| Feeding Bristol | Giving everyone access to affordable, nutritious food and the skills to eat healthily |
Housing/Homelessness Charities in Bristol
Emmaus Bristol
What they do
Emmaus have charity shop social enterprises, which is probably the most likely way you’ll have come into contact with this charity.
The charity work to rent housing to homeless people who work in their shops/sorting or online eBay shop. This gives the people space chance to recover from homelessness and eventually Emmaus supports them in upskilling themselves and through a transition to private rental. The charity has plans of building its own accommodation for the future. At the moment it has some properties from the council and owns some. It has a building where it also rents office space to local charities and enterprises.
How to access help See this link here.
How to support the charity
Donations to their shops- also furniture and larger items. They do pick-ups and delivery there are two shops (Bedminster- opposite big Asda, and Stokes Croft-off upper york street), Emmaus vintage (332 Gloucester road) and an online eBay store (https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/emmausbristol)
If you have the means and are a Landlord, you can also rent your property to them (https://emmausbristol.org.uk/help-us/rent-your-property-to-us/) or donate (https://emmausbristol.org.uk/help-us/donate-money/) or volunteer (https://emmausbristol.org.uk/help-us/volunteer/)
Julian Trust Night Shelter
What they do:
Julian tryst is a night shelter- offering homeless people in Bristol hot showers, clothes, laundry and hot takeaway food. Julian Trust Nightshelter currently costs around £1,500 per week to run which at £15 per bed space per night, represents good value for money.
How to access support:
This is the address: The Night Shelter, 16 Little Bishop Street, St Pauls, Bristol, BS2 9JF. They are open on weeknights 8-9.30 pm.
How to Support them:
Donate money or time, donate food and donate clothes. They are always looking for people with trade skills to support running the centre. See their website to see donation lists and drop-off times, volunteer work hours and detail on how to get involved. https://www.juliantrust.org.uk/
Mungos
What they do:
Their mission is ending homelessness and rebuilding lives. The Charity run hostels, alternative housing and many support services. The charity does a lot of work with individuals, looking at their skills to try and get them back on track, offering Basic Skills training to help with literacy and numeracy; offering courses on various trade skills, like bricklaying or decorating; and through Employment and Training, becoming employed by one of their partner organisations.
How to access help See this link here:
How to Support them
To support, you can fundraise, volunteer or donate, including philanthropy and in-memory services. Link to volunteer services here: https://www.mungos.org/get-involved/volunteer/current-volunteering-opportunities/
Caring in Bristol
What they do
Caring in Bristol supports homeless people in a number of ways. They run: ‘bristol goods’- pop-up food shop- memberships to get food access to people living on the streets or unable to afford food otherwise, and provide resources on food skills, budgeting etc.
Caring in Bristol also runs a house providing rest bite and sanctuary for young homeless aged 18-25. They run a floating support service for young and homeless in bristol.
Another area o the charity funds research on food support and homelessness. They are developing a blueprint plan to end homelessness in bristol.
How to access help
Use the Streetlink website or app. Bristol City Council’s latest guidance on homelessness and coronavirus can be found here.
How to Support them
You can take part in one of their projects: growing for Bristol, or caring breakfasts. See more details on their website.
You can also get involved with supporting the Christmas event and their Bristol 365 shelter with its everyday running.
The Charity is also looking for people to host people experiencing homelessness, either in temporary arrangements or in more permanent short-term care and support.
Help Bristol Homelessness
What they do
Help Bristol Homelessness arranges community events, assists people experiencing homelessness with form filling and the admin necessary for them to seek help, offers emergency care packages and provides short term temporary accommodation
How to access help
First thing they suggest is the street link site. then they also have a referral form- but read the details exactly on what they offer and get the link here: https://helpbristolshomeless.org/referral/
How to Support them:
Regular donations etc but a
They particularly look for people with construction skills (electricians/plumbers) to work on conversions of container ships into micro-homes. They also look for any trade such as hairdressing, massage therapists, and yoga practitioners who could aid their support offerings. They also look for kitchen-related staff. Follow this link for more details: https://helpbristolshomeless.org/volunteer/
Food Charities in Bristol
Feeding Bristol
What they do
Their mission is for everyone to have access to affordable, nutritious food and the skills to eat healthily.
Feeding Bristol is an umbrella organisation- they try to kick start and support initiatives that will alleviate problems in the 5 key skills areas of their mission; immediate need, food skills, food supply and policy change. They look at the full range from immediate hunger to long-term policy and sustained change which is why the scope is broad and a big part of what they do is support smaller charities working directly on one of those missions.
How to access help follow this link here.
How to support
Online form for volunteering to find out more as there are limited details on their site: https://www.feedingbristol.org/volunteering. DONATE: https://www.feedingbristol.org/donate
Health/Hospital Charities in Bristol
Bristol and Weston hospitals charity
What they do
The charity aims to bring moments of joy, comfort and hope to those in need. They fund the creation of healing environments and spaces to provide dignity, privacy and empathy. They also have a focus on equitable access.
Another aim is to fund technology, treatments, knowledge and medical research. The accounts and spending annual reports of what they have done each year are on the website along with an impact report. https://www.bwhospitalscharity.org.uk/Pages/Category/your-impact?Take=24
How to access help
For hospital staff, you can apply for a grant here: https://www.bwhospitalscharity.org.uk/our-grants
How to support
There are many ways to get involved: Leave in legacy and donate in memory, donate money, play their lottery. There is a scheme to donate by ‘buying’ a colourful house with your plaque or a family remembrance plaque.
They also have volunteer roles. You can become a charity champion where you work with hospital staff to bring information to the ward and make connections etc.
The Grand Appeal
What they do
Motto: no child, no carer left alone.
This children’s hospital charity, put efforts to support life-saving equipment; family accommodation; research into children’s health; well-being support. Also music and art therapy and art enhancements-
How to access help
They have a contact page to discuss the charity or fundraising campaigns. Phone them on 0117 927 3888.
How to support
They have loads of advice for fundraising, specifically through work/schools/or home. There’s a trust and philanthropy information/ giving in memory pages, and generally good information on their website about how to give support. There is also a shop- the Gromit shop, selling figurines of colourful gromits and other products like water bottles, and stationery in aid of the appeal.
Young and Free Charity
What they do
Their mission is Integration for young people with disabilities. young and Free are a ‘ “buddying” and befriending service for disabled young people with physical and sensory impairments aged 16-25 in the Bristol area’. They run about 2 events a month such as bowling, meals out or theatre trips.
How to access help If you would like to reach out to us via telephone, please call 07468524364. Here is a calendar of their events: http://youngandfreecharity.co.uk/my-calendar/
How to support become a member or donate.
Old age Charities in Bristol
Alive Activities
What they do
Alie activities is a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life of older people and their carers. They run activities for the community, for the care sector and coaching for care staff.
Activities include sessions in the care homes, such as gardening projects- online on-demand friendship connection sessions etc.” They offer activities in care homes and out in the wider community, bringing art, sport, IT, gardening and intergenerational connections to older people.
How to access help
This is the link for booking an activity session: https://aliveactivities.org/book/
How to support
Fundraising (individual or corporate or in your will). Volunteering for the charity either in a personal or corporate capacity. You can also support their community gardening.
AgeUK Bristol
What we do
AgeUK’s mission is to help make ageing better. They offer advice and information for old people and their families and carers; dementia day centres with activities including art, exercise and sport. They also run a support line offering emotional social and practical support. Another service they run is scam advice, and buddy-up programmes to help reduce loneliness.
How to access help
The daycare centre is here: The Withywood Centre, Queens Road, Withywood, Bristol, BS13 8QA. This is a link to the current activities the charity are running: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bristol/activities-and-events/
How to support Support through fundraising, donating or volunteering.
Community Charities in Bristol
Love Bristol
What they do
Love Bristol is a church charity with a passion for caring for our community in creative and inspiring ways.
How to access help
LoveBristol is a non-profit charity and church, dedicated to providing love, care and support for communities across Bristol. Based in Stokes Croft Bristol, LoveBristol runs a number of social enterprises with core values of Creativity, Community and Care. Our social enterprises include:
The LoveBristol Bakery – A small bakery, working with local suppliers, providing great products and acting as a community hub.
123 Space – a multi-use space which mainly functions as a gallery for showcasing art from and for the local community.
1B Studios – provides desk space for local artists and start-ups.
Happytat – a second-hand furniture and up-cycling centre which provides volunteer opportunities for the local community and raises funds for homeless and addiction charities operating in Bristol.
Treasure, Stokes Croft – a vintage clothing shop and community hub raising funds for the local area.
How to support
You can support through involvement tin a number of projects including those above. See more information on their website here: https://www.lovebristol.org/