CamCRAG is a registered charity who organise regular weekend volunteer convoys from Cambridge to Calais. We also collect donations and funds to help refugees in Europe and beyond.
CamCRAG is a registered charity who organise regular weekend volunteer convoys from Cambridge to Calais. We also collect donations and funds to help refugees in Europe and beyond.

About Us

> Structure
> AGMs and annual reports
> Monthly newsletter
> About your data

Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group was founded in 2015 by activists in and around Cambridge, with the aim of coordinating the logistics of sending donations and volunteers to help refugees in the Calais area.

In November 2016 we became a registered charity (number 1170180), and we continue to organise regular weekend trips of volunteers to Calais, assisting the aid organisations there.

We also hold fundraisers and collect donations, as well as raising awareness of the refugee situation in Europe.

As a small and independent charity we are also able to provide funds quickly when there is an urgent need, and have supported various projects in Europe – see camcrag.org.uk/grants for examples.

All the money we raise goes towards providing aid or supporting our convoys: We have no employees, and are entirely run by volunteers.

Structure

Trustees and Members

The charity is overseen by a board of trustees, who meet at least quarterly. The trustees appoint an executive committee, which handles everyday management and decision making, and usually meets every month (in reality several trustees are also members of the executive committee).

You can see the current list of trustees on our entry on the Charity Commission’s website.

Our members help direct the charity and vote for the trustees at the Annual General Meetings. Members are usually volunteers who have been involved with the charity for a few months or more, and want to help direct its management and future development. They agree to abide by the charity’s code of conduct.

Anyone can become a member of the charity: If you’re interested the first step is to register on our volunteer database at camcrag.org.uk/joinourvolunteers

Subgroups

We have several subgroups which run different parts of the charity:

  • Donations: Drop off days and other donation collections, donation storage and sorting
  • Convoys: Organises and runs regular volunteer convoys to the warehouse in Calais
  • Fundraising: Holds fundraising events and campaigns
  • Volunteers: Recruitment and management of volunteers
  • Communications: Website and social media, press, e-newsletter

From time to time we also organise one-off or continuing projects, which usually involve volunteers working together in their own team. For example, we have an ongoing Poncho Project to make garments for refugees in France and for sale in the UK, and in 2019 organised an all day tentfest to check, clean and repair tents salvaged from music festivals.

AGMs and annual reports

Our annual general meetings are usually held in October and are open to all members of the public, although only members of the charity can vote. We elect / re-elect trustees and approve the annual accounts, but most of the meeting is a review of what the charity has been doing for the past year and hopes to achieve over the following year. There are usually speeches and presentations on current aspects of the refugee crisis by invited guests, and then time for informal discussion over refreshments.

Our annual report, containing our accounts, is published online and in print at or shortly before the AGM. You can download previous annual reports as PDFs:
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017

Monthly e-newsletter

The best way to keep up to date with what we’re doing is to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter at camcrag.org.uk/newslettersubscription (sometimes we may send two a month, but no more!).

You can also view previous newsletters in our archive at camcrag.org.uk/newsletter

The CamCRAG poncho project also maintains its own mailing list for anyone interested in our ongoing project to make ponchos for refugees in France and for sale in the UK – you can sign up by clicking here.

About Your Data

We keep all personal information secure and as prescribed by current regulations. We will only use your data in line with the charity’s stated aims and purposes, and will not share it with any other organisation.

If you want to know what data we hold about you, or if you have any concerns, comments or complaints about our data handling, please email us on contact@camcrag.org.uk.