Driftwood artist ShoreLark (Sarah Lewis) makes whales, birds, boats and houses from driftwood and found objects in her Flintshire garden workshop. Recently she visited SHARE’s headquarters near Shire Hall in Mold on one their charity sale days and was very inspired by the work they do for homeless people.

 

 

‘Homelessness is on the increase and SHARE do an amazing job of supporting people in need. I wondered how I could support their work in a small way…Sometimes I look at the colourful, little houses I make, with their tiny carved boats and bent nail streetlights and think, I’d love to live in a house like that! That gave me the idea for ‘Homes for the Homeless’ so I made a group of tiny houses to sell. All the money I received went to support SHARE. Thank you to everybody who bought one, and thanks to SHARE for the amazing work

you do.’

 

 

Visit Shorelark on Facebook to browse through her work

 

 

 

Share supports families in crisis and people who are homeless in North Wales and Cheshire and we assist refugees fleeing for their lives, wherever they are in the world. In September 2015, the harrowing photograph of the tiny body of three-year-old Alyun Kurdi, washed  up on a beach in the Mediterranean, spurred four local mums from the Mold area to ‘do something’ to make a difference to people fleeing for their lives from war torn Syria and Iraq. They joined forces with a Chester based businessman and it was then that sharewas born. Within weeks they were joined by like-minded businesses, schools, churches and other organisations and inundated with donations that were promptly sorted and sent where needed. In January 2016 the share shop in Chester was opened.

 

In Mold, share volunteers receive, sort, pack and distribute all donations of clothing, footwear and other essential equipment, currently required by the refugee camps in Europe and further afield. We coordinate our efforts with other refugee support organisations in the UK and abroad, to ensure that the right items are provided at the right time and to the right place. We also work with local agencies in North Wales, supporting families in crisis, by supplying them with basic household essentials, donated furniture, clothing, toys and baby/children’s items.

 

In Chester, share volunteers help to raise valuable funds for the charity in the share shop, by selling donations received that are not suitable for refugees or local homeless people. These items are still valuable to us, as all funds raised are then split equally between our refugee and homeless projects. Twice a week, our share van provides a valuable outreach services to those living rough on the streets of Chester. Loaded up with hot drinks, food, sleeping bags and warm clothing, our aim is to give some comfort to those who simply have no place of their own to call home. Share is a non-profit organisation (registered charity No. 1166530)’