"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little."
- Edmund Burke
About Us
In 2015 Shelley Meister travelled from Cornwall, England to Lesvos, Greece and the seeds of OAAA were planted. In the spring of 2016 an informal Penzance-based group was formed to collect aid for displaced people and raise funds for shipping to Greece, Syria, and Calais by partner groups.
Shelley and her husband, James Batty, campaigned to resettle families in Cornwall via the Cornwall Refugee Resource Network, eventually officially “befriending” two Syrian families resettled by the UNHCR and the UK government. They also started making regular family visits to help various refugee support groups in Calais.
In late 2017 One And All Aid officially became a registered charity.
In 2018 we were able to fund the opening of a ‘Child Friendly Space’ in war-torn Sinjar, Iraq for Yezidi children whose families were recovering from the genocide perpetrated by ISIS. The charity’s only paid staff are the twenty Yezidi employees who run our education projects in Iraq.
For a period in late 2020, as COVID restrictions limited travel, One And All Aid became the only organisation in Cornwall shipping aid to Calais/Dunkirk.
In 2021 we became the lead charity for salvage collection at the main Cornish music festival where we collect camping supplies that we ship to Northern France.
We have grown and changed over the years to adapt to the changing on-the-ground needs and shipping opportunities.
Aid We Provide
Currently, Cornwall-based One And All Aid fundraises primarily for two Yezidi education projects in Sinjar, Iraq and collects aid for people in Calais/Dunkirk who are intending to seek asylum.
Our main fundraising project is our Penzance shop where we sell donated goods. We rely on regular supporters’ monthly donations and one-off fundraisers. The shop is also our main drop-off location for aid donations for our partner organisations.
We lead an all-Cornwall summer music festival salvage group. Our volunteers collect tents and sleeping bags left at festivals which supplements our aid shipments to France.
We continue to ship aid to our partners in Iraq where we fund our two education projects that educate hundreds of children. Sadly, our aid shipments are limited by Iraqi rules, meaning we ship primarily new clothing, teddies, and school supplies.
In the past we have also partnered with shippers to Lebanon and Moldova. We are always open to people with ideas and an interest in getting involved.
Contact
We are only as strong as our supporters! Please get in touch about donations or volunteering (in the shop, doing festival clearance, sorting aid).
We are in the Penzance shop Monday - Saturday 10-4:30
5 The GreenmarketPenzanceTR18 2SGWe can also be contacted on facebook or info@oneandallaid.org