Welcome Churches wants to see every refugee welcomed by the local church. We are so pleased that you share our vision!

Welcome Boxes is an excellent way for newly-arrived asylum seekers and refugees to meet local people and find their way around the local area.  By participating, your church can send trained volunteers to deliver a box filled with small gifts and local information to refugees who have recently arrived in your area and give a warm welcome to them.  Your volunteers will continue to welcome the family or individual over the next three months or so, helping them access support available to them and linking them into your community.

By partnering with Welcome Churches, we will provide you with all that you need to set up the project. We will train your Welcome Boxes Coordinator and Welcomer volunteers to make sure your Welcome Boxes project gets off to a strong start.

Our Welcome Boxes Coordinator training will give you information about the UK system for asylum seekers and refugees; and how to connect with them in your area. We will also cover how to build partnerships with other organisations in your area to promote Welcome Boxes so that asylum seekers can be referred to you. Our training also includes all of the paperwork, safeguarding and GDPR information you will need in order to set up the project in your church. We will give you advice about how to recruit a team of Welcomers and how to lead and look after your team.

Our Welcomer Training will equip your team of volunteer Welcomers in understanding the role of a Welcomer and what becoming a Welcome Church looks like. We will train you to carry out Welcome Boxes visits; being aware of cross cultural issues and ways to communicate without a shared language when necessary. It involves role plays around the Welcome Boxes visit and how to follow up on an initial visit; and how to offer to pray for your new Neighbours. We also explain about setting boundaries and adhering to good practice and safeguarding guidelines.  

You will also have access via our website to the systems, documentation, flyers and sample letters that you may need to advertise and promote your Welcome Boxes project. After training, you will receive our licence to run Welcome Boxes in your location. The Welcome Churches team will be on hand to support your project as it develops, and you will be part of the wider Welcome Network of churches with your details on our website (network.welcomechurches.org). You will also receive discounted rates for our Network Days where there’s a chance to meet other churches running Welcome Boxes as well as those welcoming refugees in other ways too.

In order to apply to run Welcome Boxes, please complete the form below. This form should be completed by:

- The designated Welcome Boxes Coordinator for the church
- The Church Leader
- The Church Data Protection Officer

By filling in the application, you also agree to our Welcome Boxes Church Agreement outlined at: welcomechurches.org/welcome-boxes-agreement.

We hope to be able to train your church to run Welcome Boxes soon!

*Throughout this survey, we use the term 'refugees' to mean refugees and asylum seekers.