Stonyhurst Hummingbird Project

Following a petition from our student Faith That Does Justice Group, Stonyhurst College was delighted to agree to begin the process of resettling a refugee family within our community, through Caritas Salford’s partnership with the Home Office’s Community Sponsorship Resettlement Scheme.

Over the past few months, students have carried out a fundraising campaign under the banner of The Hummingbird Project, and we were overwhelmed to reach our initial fundraising target of £9,000 by Christmas.

The project has brought together staff and parents of the three schools in Hurst Green; Stonyhurst College, St Mary’s Hall Stonyhurst, and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, as well as members of the local Catholic and Anglican Parishes and residents of the village. Added to this, all our work is done with the support of Sean Ryan MBE, the National Refugee Coordinator for Community Sponsorship, from our Lead Sponsor charity, Caritas Salford. Together, we have begun working on the application to the Home Office and hope to welcome a refugee family in Autumn of this year.

Stonyhurst College hopes to be the first school in the UK to welcome a refugee family through this scheme and our whole community is looking forward to welcoming the family and supporting them in their new surroundings.

Catherine Hanley
Lay Chaplain, Stonyhurst