*Our community of supporters and customers back our proposal to give refugee women more skills and training to produce a greater variety of future products.
*Our amazing community tell us they want to help grow the organisation by sharing our stories and products online and with friends.
*New partnerships with artists, artisans and women’s cooperatives a common call from all.
*New Love Welcomes ‘champions’ group set up for supporters wanting to do more to help.
A new survey has been completed by hundreds of our Love Welcomes community of supporters and customers and has showed overwhelming support for expanding our work to meet the needs of a fast-growing refugee camp in Greece.
When asked how the organisation might expand its work in coming years people showed overwhelming support for increasing the variety of products available through providing more training and skills for women in the refugee camps, creating new partnerships with artists and artisans and connecting with other amazing women’s cooperatives.
The survey was shared by Love Welcomes as the refugee camp in Greece where we work has grown three times in size since the start of the year. Love Welcomes is exploring how best to expand our product range so that we can help more women.
Abi Hewitt, Co-Founder of Love Welcomes said “I am so encouraged by the love and support from our community around the world. We are facing a growing problem in the camps but our supporters have told us they want to help us do more. This commitment is amazing and will shape our plans going forward.
Our support for refugee women is only made possible by our customers purchasing beautiful hand made products, and the survey showed our supporters want to do more. Thank you to everyone who has shared their insights with us, we are listening.”
More than 250 of our supporters spent around 10 minutes completing the survey and sharing their views on new products and the future of the organisation. To support future growth 44% said they would share our work on social media, 28% would share our newsletters with friends and 1 in 3 people would promote Love Welcomes with a business/faith group/book club or similar.
In light of these results one of the immediate next steps for Love Welcomes to launch a new ‘champions’ group of supporters for anyone wanting to help promote the work. The champions group will be given social media content, inside information on the work in the camps in Greece and advance intel on product launches. If this sounds of interest you can sign up to become a Love Welcomes Champion you can click below.
Become a Love Welcomes Champion
Love Welcomes works hard to be a personal bridge between the women in the camps and our supporters around the world. The survey has told us that in many cases people are motivated to support Love Welcomes when they believe their own government is not doing enough to support refugees.
One of the comments said : “I apologise for the lack of welcome from my government but this is not done in my name. Please accept the love I have.”
We are also excited that our work has helped build understanding of the situation facing refugees with 88.5% of our survey responders.
It was clear from the survey results that people are inspired by the products and the women who make them. This came across loud and clear in many of the comments we received. For example:
“The pieces are all unique. You can sense the love and care taken by the individuals making them and it makes you think of their stories and lives giving employment to refugee women”
“I love the message and the makers”
“Me and my daughter stood in the kitchen and cried as we held it.It Is my most prized possession.”
“I know its not enough but there are people you have never met or never will, that care about what you are going through. I know it doesn’t make it any better but acknowledging your struggle has definitely changed me. This is not your fault. You don’t deserve to suffer.”
“Now it is framed and on my wall it is impossible not to think of those affected, everyday. It also helps with out Covid19 lockdown as a reminder that relatively speaking my family is very fortunate.”
The survey also showed overwhelming support for Love Welcomes to partner with other women’s cooperatives around the world in order to make beautiful hand made products with a meaningful message in every piece. This is something we will be taking forward in 2020 as a pilot and we look forward to sharing this back with our community.
One of the questions asked customers to share a message with the women we work with. The response to this question has been overwhelming. Our aim is to turn these messages into a book we give everyone in the camp. More on this to follow.