QVSR was delighted to receive a grant of £5000 from the Baltic Exchange Charitable Foundation towards its Christmas programme 2021. In total QVSR distributes around 2,750 Christmas presents to active and retired seafarers.
Our QVSR chaplaincy team take the gifts on board the hundreds of ships which visit the Port of London during the Christmas period. QVSR London Tilbury and London Gateway Seafarers Centres receive around 10,000 visitors per year.
During 2022 QVSR has been pleased to take up the opportunity to expand its work and we now have responsibility for the seafarers centres in the Ports of Bristol, Felixstowe and Immingham. This expanded operation will see QVSR welcome around 50,000 seafarers to UK shores each year (even more Christmas presents to wrap and distribute!).
Our mission building on the East India Dock Road London is home to around 170 men, a number of them are ex-seafarers (with others being ex-servicemen) and the pictures show our staff and volunteers taking the Christmas gifts to the residents’ rooms.
The grant from Baltic Exchange Charitable Foundation made Christmas 2021 a very special time for these seafarers.
