Posted on: 14th July 2026

Leeds City Mission (LCM) are making the most of the summer heatwaves to connect with the public and create gospel encounters.

In recent days the City Mission has received hundreds of donated soft drinks.  They are offering them to sweltering local shoppers and residents in the Armley area enabling them to quench their thirst and maintain healthy hydration levels.

Volunteers at Leeds City Mission have been offering chilled drinks of water, juice and pop to anyone needing refreshment. During the day from Monday to Friday people have been calling in for a free drink at their Compassion Centre opposite Armley Library. 

LCM Coordinator Andy Dalton explained “They are chilled overnight in their refrigerator and then made available free of charge to anyone passing our premises on their way to the local prison or the local shops.  Visitors have also been welcomed to take shelter from the sun inside the Compassion Centre on the comfortable chairs available for respite.”

He said that drinking plenty of liquids was crucial in the current temperatures.  He urged anyone feeling the effects of heat to call and collect a can of pop, a caprisun drink or bottles of water so that they can maintain safe hydration levels in the sweltering heat. 

This project to offer free liquid refreshments will continue for the duration of the heatwaves.They are also offering free Christian literature to those calling for a drink.  He said the project enabled gospel encounter opportunities.  They are making free Christian leaftets and Good News Newspapers for people to take away with them.

Andy Dalton concluded “We are offering the water of life in both senses of the word.  Jesus said to a thirsty woman in John chapter 4 – ‘whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’.”

LCM is one of the oldest charities in the city being in continuous existence since 1837.  It is a multi-church agency sharing the gospel through word and deed with marginalised people.  It especially provides support for small churches struggling in difficult circumstances.  The City Mission Centre in Mistress Lane Armley offers a range of services.  These include a Christian Book & Card Booth, Charity Shop, Foodbank, Hygiene Shelf, Prison Chaplaincy, Welcome Space for the isolated, Clothing Bank, free shower facility for those living on the streets, volunteer opportunities for those trying to reconnect with mainstream living plus other projects.

Photograph accompanying this article shows Volunteer Reka Hermann outside the City Mission Compassion Centre with some of the cans of pop & caprisun drinks available for the public