Fresh Start

Yesterday we celebrated 26 years of Fresh Start at our AGM, with our board members, volunteers and corporate partners 💙

Our AGM is a wonderful opportunity to cheer the impact our services have had this year, spend time catching up with new and old faces, share our Annual Review with our direct community, and to thank our board and volunteers for their amazing support.

Some of the incredible stories from the past year include:

📦 20,879 Starter Packs distributed to households in need.
🖌️ 82 In-house painting sessions and 45 paint packs distributed.
♻️ 11,594kg of food diverted from landfill.
🍲 5,248 meals provided to the community.
🤝 30+ households supported by our NESSie programme.

This AGM was a bittersweet one, as we said farewell to our outgoing Chair, Gary Cameron, who has stepped down after 20+ years of passionate and much appreciated support for Fresh Start. He leaves the Chair position in the very capable hands of our new interim Chair, Donald Lindsay, who joins us from our wonderful corporate partner, FreeAgent 🤝

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to all those who have supported Fresh Start over the past year - together, we're helping those who are moving on from homelessness to make a home for themselves, and we couldn't do it without your support.

We excited to share that our 2026 Annual Review is now available to read on our website! 🤩

The Annual Review includes letters from our CEO, Biddy Kelly, and our Chair, Gary Cameron, as well as stats and stories from our services, updates on our board, and a summary of finances from the past year. Overall, the Annual Review highlights the importance of relationships in everything we do as an organisation, and is a big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us over the past year 💙

Also on our website, you'll now find our most recent newsletter which features stories from our Service Coordinators and volunteers, as well as a sneak peek at our Cookers For Christmas Appeal for 2026.

Happy reading 📰: https://ow.ly/LxcY50ZToba

September at Fresh Start 🍂

It has been another busy month for us, with food collections, important conversations and time spent enjoying the last of the warm weather before a fun festive season ahead! Here's just some of what we've been up to in September:

🍔 Hosted our annual Volunteer BBQ!
🗓️ Our CEO, Biddy Kelly, has attended various events with our partners, including Spartans Community Foundation Charity Dinner and a meeting with the Edinburgh Futures Institute Scottish Prevention Hub team.
⛪ Accepted generous and very welcome donations from Balerno Parish Church and St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh - thank you!
🤝 Welcomed volunteer teams from Storm ID, Standard Life UK, Burton & Speke, IHG Hotels & Resorts, FreeAgent and Royal Scotsman, A Belmond Train.
🗣️ Attended the Volunteer Edinburgh Volunteer Fair.
🚶‍♂️‍➡️Supported our Kiltwalkers as they raised an incredible £4196.50 for our services!
👋 Hosted a pop-up stall at Atria One in Edinburgh to share more about what we do with their business community, and,
🫖 Attended an Afternoon Tea event at Dentons to celebrate their contribution to Pro Bono work and support of charities across Edinburgh.

With our AGM, festive campaigns (more on this next week!) and lots to look forward to in October, we're ready for another busy month here at Fresh Start!

📣 ATTENTION PLEASE 📣

Fresh Start will be closed from 11am on Thursday, 1st October.

All services will resume as usual on Friday, October 2nd.

Apologies for any inconvenience 💙

💙 Volunteer Spotlight 💙

This month, we're shining a spotlight on Sean, who volunteers with our Fresh Rooms team!

Sean has been volunteering with Fresh Start since late 2024. After retiring from work, he was looking for something to keep him busy, and wanted to spend his time doing something that would make a difference.

For Sean, the best part of volunteering with Fresh Start is a draw between working with Fresh Rooms clients, and also with other Fresh Rooms volunteers. "For the former, it’s great to blether and find some common ground…admittedly sometimes centring on the global language of football!! For the latter, it’s heart-warming to meet so many nice folk, get a handle on their backstory and find out what motivates them to volunteer, while at the same time learning little tricks of the painting trade!" 🙌

Volunteering with Fresh Start has deepened Sean's understanding of what community means. For him, "the notion of actually reaching out to help somebody [...] and the belief that everyone should have a decent, comfortable place to call home are, I think, cornerstones of what community means."

Sean's love of football and fun personality shine through when asked what colours he'd paint his house if he had the choice: "My bedroom would have the wall facing my bed navy blue and white diagonal stripes, the other 3 walls would be salmon pink and there’d be a whopping great lion rampant on the ceiling. With that major concession, I think I’d have to leave the colour scheme of the rest of the house to my wife…..neutral colours then!" 😂

We couldn't be happier or more grateful to have Sean as part of our volunteer team - thanks for all your hard work! 🫶

It's been a delicious few weeks in our Community Kitchen, with everything from blueberry and apple crumble (using donated apples!) and pizza, to victoria sponge, curry and enchiladas 🤤🙌

Our Community Kitchen offers a range of services, including cooking classes, Saturday night supper packs so people can continue cooking at home in a way that feels supported, and our Friday 'Meet & Eat' meals.

The aim of these services is to help those in need to develop the tools they need to thrive, from practical cooking, nutrition and budgeting tips, to social skills and a space for them to build connection with a community 🫶

What would you like to see on our Friday 'Meet & Eat' menu next? 👀

Let us know in the comments! ⬇️

⭐ Staff Spotlight: Callum⭐

We have quite a few work anniversaries to celebrate this month! Next up is our Starter Pack & Warehouse Assistant, Callum, who works alongside Duncan and the wider warehouse team, as well as our wonderful volunteers, to make sure those moving on from homelessness have what they need to thrive.

Callum joined Fresh Start 7 years ago, and in that time he has performed a range of different roles in the warehouse. While his main focus is PAT testing all the electrical items that are donated to Fresh Start, he is also a warehouse technician and a pick up and delivery driver, and supports with donations at the door in between all of that! Within the team, Callum is known for his kindness and willingness to help out wherever he can; a very hard worker, he is a hugely valued member of the Fresh Start team 💙

Callum was interested to join Fresh Start as he saw an "opportunity to develop myself and build confidence." He says that his favourite part of his job is doing the PAT Testing in the warehouse, where he can get in the zone, and get a bunch of items tested and ready to go. PAT Testing is a skill he has developed over his time at Fresh Start, and it helps him to feel like he's making a difference in the lives of those receiving Starter Packs, so that they have items that are safe and in working order.

Outside of work, one of Callum's favourite hobbies is gaming - he especially loves playing Sea of Thieves, his favourite game. He also enjoys spending time on walks with his dog, Scout, after work and on the weekends, to relax after a busy week. After 7 years at Fresh Start, Callum loves that he has had the chance to "watch Fresh Start evolve into what it is today", and is excited to see how it will keep growing into the future 🙌

Thank you for everything Callum - your hard work, kindness and energy make Fresh Start what it is!

Don't forget to vote for Fresh Start 🗳️

Fresh Start's Holiday Hunger programme has been shortlisted for the Tesco Fruit and Veg Grant - funding for local projects that provide healthy food to children and young people.

Our Holiday Hunger programme supports families with the cost of extra groceries during school holidays by extending our regular Pantry membership. We also make sure that everyone can enjoy healthy snacks during the holidays by offering free fruit and vegetables 🥕

The charities shortlisted for the Fruit and Veg Grant will receive £500, £1000 or £1500, awarded through a public vote taking place in Tesco stores. To vote for Fresh Start, make sure to grab your blue token at one of the Tesco stores below 👇

📍South Queensferry Superstore (EH30 9QZ)
📍Davidson Mains Superstore (EH4 6AA)
📍Queensferry Road Express (EH4 7QD)

Every vote counts - thank you for supporting Fresh Start 💙

Shout out to our Kiltwalkers 🎉

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk at the weekend to raise funds for Fresh Start! The total raised was a fantastic £4,196.50, which will be used to support our services 💙

The team from our Growing Spaces service, the Trowel Blazers, raised £2,659.50 (including Gift Aid) - an amazing achievement!

If you'd like to support Fresh Start by taking part in in a fun challenge event, we've got places in a range of upcoming races. Check out what's on below 👇

🏅 Supernova Forth Road Bridge 5K – 7th November 2026
🏅 Supernova Kelpies 5K – 12th & 13th March 2027
🏅 Edinburgh Marathon Festival – 29th & 30th May 2027

If you'd like to run for Fresh Start, reach out to us at [email protected] to find out more 📧