The Gatehouse at St. Barnabas

The Gatehouse project was started by the churches of central Oxford as a Christmas emergency shelter in 1988, and still gets much of its support from them. As many as 200 volunteers help regularly, serving food, chatting with the guests and helping with the washing up, supported by a small team of permanent staff. An average of about 80 guests attend during a two-hour session, but on a busy night this will rise to 100. Generous donations of unsold food are provided by local shops and restaurants.

The charity was named as one of the very first Queen's Golden Jubilee Award winners in 2003 and appeared in the background to the Queen's Christmas Broadcast to the nation that year. The Gatehouse is now part of the ROBIN group - businesses and charities working together and helping each other make a difference (Responsible Oxfordshire Business Involvement Network). To learn more see www.oxnet.org.uk/