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Council and popular charity launch joint fundraising appeal for Ukrainian refugees in Manchester

"Manchester stands in solidarity with  refugees, and we are ready to play our part."

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 24th March 2022

Manchester City Council and one of the city’s most iconic charities has joined forces to launch a fundraising appeal for refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Set up by the Council in partnership with We Love MCR Charity (WLMC), all with the aim of supporting individuals and families fleeing the devastating conflict and arriving here in Manchester, the new MCR Ukraine Welcome Fund will fund charities and voluntary sector groups who are providing assistance – such as essential items, advice, and more.  

Every penny raised and donated will go towards supporting Ukrainian evacuees in the city, and the Council has already kicked-off the fund with a donation of £50,000.  

So far, the new MCR Ukraine Welcome Fund has already identified Caritas (Salford Diocese) and Europia as charity partners with “considerable experience” of supporting people who arrive in the city with next to nothing.

Further partners are also being brought in, according to the Council and WLMC.

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“No one watching the horrific scenes unfolding in Ukraine following the Russian invasion can fail to be moved by the plight of the Ukrainian people,” said Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, on the launch of the fund.

“Manchester stands in solidarity with them and we are ready to play our part, together with towns and cities across Europe, in welcoming evacuees escaping the conflict and the humanitarian disaster it is creating.  

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“While some people will even be opening their homes to arriving Ukrainians, we know not everyone is in a position to do that, but by donating to this fund you can show you care by helping to provide practical help and support right here in Manchester to those escaping danger and starting to rebuild their lives.”

Joanne Roney OBE – Chief Executive of Manchester City Council said: “I’m glad the Council has been able to make the first donation as we know that Mancunians have big hearts and a proud tradition of hospitality and compassion.

“They will doubtless be generous in helping to welcome Ukrainian families to our city.”

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Other organisations getting involved with the fund include Manchester City FC, who will be promoting the campaign on match days at both the Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium. 

What’s more, is that Manchester City Council is also working with other services to coordinate planning for the arrival of Ukrainian refugees under Government schemes – including the recently-launched Homes for Ukraine scheme, which enables UK residents to host Ukrainian evacuees. 

Read more: Over 100,000 people sign-up to open their homes to Ukraine refugees in UK

The striking new £40 million Tower of Light landmark near Manchester Central Convention Centre will also be illuminated blue and yellow to mark the launch of the fund, so keep your eyes peeled.

You can donate to the MCR Ukraine Welcome Fund here.

Featured Image – Instagram (@yuliecler)

News

95% of Mancs apparently want the city to be ‘cashless’, new study reveals

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Contactless payment

An eye-opening new study has found that only 5% of Mancs still use cash as their preferred method of payment nowadays.

It comes as no surprise that cash is less of a ‘king’ nowadays than it used to be, but now a new report by global financial technology company SumUp has suggests that only 5% of people in Manchester prefer to pay with cash, while 59% choose debit and credit cards, so that leaves one question… is Manchester on its way to becoming a cashless city?

To discover how payment preferences are evolving, SumUp conducted a nationwide survey to gather insights from UK consumers about their payment habits.

The company was particularly intrigued to not only discover payment methods people prefer, but what their concerns around certain payment methods, alongside how they feel about businesses that don’t accept digital payments.

95% of Mancs apparently want the city to be ‘cashless’ / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash) | Pexels

Firstly, before we go any further, it’s important to note that almost two thirds (63%) of Manchester residents said they have changed the way they make payments over the past year.

Unsurprisingly, debit and credit cards remain the top choice for the majority of Mancs, with over half (59%) saying it was their preferred method of payment, followed by mobile payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay at 24% – which is likely thanks to their ease of use and the ability to have multiple cards on one device.

While a third (31%) of Mancs said that they ‘don’t mind’ cash and still opt to carry it for situations where digital payments aren’t an option, a growing number of people in the city are feel that digital payments are more favourable, with 25% thinking that businesses should adapt to modern payment methods and whilst 28% finding it ‘inconvenient’ when a business doesn’t accept digital payments. 

A further 11% of people even say that cash-only businesses wouldn’t be an option they’d consider, and would actually avoid them wherever possible.

Card payment
Only 5% use cash as their preferred method of payment / Credit: Rawpixel

When it comes to concerns around digital payment methods, where do Mancs stand then? Well, the survey found that a third (33%) of people are worried about their reliance on technology, especially being unable to pay if their phone dies, for example, while an additional 32% of people are concerned about security risks such as hacking, fraud, or stolen card details.

Among other things, 26% of survey respondents also said they worry about the privacy aspect of digital banking and the tracking your data.

“While debit and credit cards continue to dominate as the preferred payment method, it’s clear that cash is slowly declining in use, particularly among younger generations,” Corin Camenisch, who is the Marketing & Growth Lead at SumUp, commented on the report.

Read more:

“That said, cash still holds its place for many.

“Looking ahead, we can anticipate a rise in innovative payment methods like digital wallets, especially as younger consumers increasingly embrace the convenience and flexibility they offer.”

Featured Image – Pavel Danilyuk (via Pexels)

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Met Office predicts UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Sunbathing in the park

The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year.

Fresh off-the-back of the news that 2025 is already the hottest spring on record, with a recorded 630 hours of sunshine from 1 March until 27 May, beating out the previous sunniest spring in 2020 by just four hours, the Met Office is now predicting that the UK is on the verge of a summer that’s ‘hotter than usual’.

According to its three-month outlook, the Met Office has predicted that it’s 2.3 times more-likely than ‘normal’ that it will be hot in the UK between 1 June and 31 August.

The average temperatures during those months are set to range from 10-17°C.

After it was revealed that this has also been the UK’s driest spring in more than a century, meteorologists are warning Brits that there could heatwave conditions could be reached at various times throughout the summer.

The release of the long-range forecast – which gives an indication of possible temperatures, rainfall, and wind speed over a period as a whole – comes after temperatures soared to 8°C (46F) above the average for this time of year this Saturday just gone (31 May).

It is important to note, however, that the Met Office thinks these predicted temperatures are similar to those in recent years, and it does not guarantee ‘prolonged’ hot weather.

The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer this year / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)

The Met Office said in a statement: “While the current three-month outlook shows an increased chance of a hot summer, the temperature signals for this summer are similar to those for recent years and consistent with our warming climate.

“The increased chance of hotter than average temperatures is not a guarantee of prolonged hot weather or heatwaves, but it does mean that heatwave conditions could be reached at times.

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“However, it’s important to bear in mind that an increased chance of hot conditions could also reflect a mix of hot and cool days, warm nights, or less extreme levels of warmth rather than continual heatwave conditions specifically.”

Featured Image – Garry Knight (via Flickr)

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