Hope for charity's future after donation appeal

Anton Goodwin said the generosity of people had made him hopeful for the future of the Shrewsbury Ark

The director of a Shrewsbury homeless charity has said it has received about £10,000 in donations since it appealed for funds to help it keep running through winter.

Shrewsbury Ark said its monthly operating costs were about £20,000 and, with rising bills and falling income, it was looking to raise about £40,000.

Anton Goodwin said since launching the appeal, about 90 people had signed up to give monthly donations through a Friends of The Ark scheme.

"That support that I've seen in the last week makes me feel really positive that we will be able to keep The Ark open, we just need to get some more friends and some more one-off donations and I've got a really good feeling," he said.

The charity said it had "stripped everything back to the essentials" to reduce costs.

Fundraising banners have been put up outside its day centre, on Castle Foregate.

He said the additional £40,000 was to boost its reserves to cover three months' running costs.

Shrewsbury Ark has been running for 50 years and said in 2024 it had helped 80 people into accommodation. About 40 volunteers help out, as well as members of staff.

"We do have extra costs like heating, we work with the council over the winter doing the SWEP (severe weather emergency protocol) which is the winter provision during the colder nights," he added.

"We do get some support from the council for that which is great, but obviously there's an increase in heating and lighting.

"Having the friends of The Ark behind us really helps us have some stable, monthly income coming in," he said.