Updated:
17th May 2013
Donations to All Saints'
We rely heavily on the generosity of the congregation for the financial support for the church. If you would like to donate, please use one of the following forms and return to Richard Holman c/o the Parish Office.
Standing Order Form - a form to enable you to set up a monthly payment from your bank to the church.
Gift Aid Declaration Form with notes - should be completed to accompany any one off payment to enable the church to reclaim any tax from the government.
Parish Action
Parish Action was launched at the start of 2006. It set out its purpose to:
“Ensure that we in the parish are aware of the social issues locally and globally and that we take practical action to help address these issues.”
Its objectives are:
• Make things happen in church and in the wider parish to address the social issues we identify
• Raise awareness of social issues in the church and in the wider parish
• Raise money to help tackle these social issues
• Take practical action to tackle these social issues
• Work through charities and other groups who are already addressing issues of concern
• Inspire people in the parish to undertake their own actions
• Coordinate and focus work currently taking place
In many churches the equivalent committee is a ‘spending department’ rather than a ‘revenue raising department’. Parish Action’s approach is a bit different – we set out to raise the 10% of the church’s income, and to give it to our charities, rather than taking money from the church’s already stretched budgets.
In addition to raising money, Parish Action aims to ensure we are aware of social issues locally and globally and that we take practical action to help address these issues, assisting individuals and communities in transforming and improving their current situations.
We currently have six chosen charities who all strive to improve the situations of the people they support. All organisations have links to people in the congregation, and many are locally based. We also encourage and support fund-raising for many other charities including the Bishops Lent Appeal.
The charts at the foot of the page show how the funds were raised in 2010 and how the money has been spent.
What can you do?
We hope you all will learn about the organisations we support and the issues they face by giving time for volunteer programmes with your skills and practical support
• Assist with raising money and donations in kind to support our chosen organizations
• Give time to the organisations- they all need volunteers, skills and practical support
• Link us up with what you do at school, Sunday school, work or home to make sure we have maximum impact
Our main Charities
Our chosen charities for our support in 2012 to 2014 are the following :Thrive
Thrive is a small national charity with one of its two main bases at Battersea Park. It uses gardening projects to help disabled people and stroke victims to develop skills, recover, meet friends and enjoy gardening. It has 900 gardening projects around the country, including at Bishop's Park. It has many opportunities for volunteers to help garden with or without groups of Thrive's clients. It has a turnover of £1.5m.
All Saints Contact:
Sam Williams at samantha@fourcornersmktg.com
St Marys Contact:
Jeff Dale at jeffdale@live.co.uk
Wandsworth Women's Aid
Wandsworth Women's Aid has been supporting women and children fleeing from domestic violence for over 36 years. They manage three refuge houses in Wandsworth employing six full time and two part time staff, and they provide a comprehensive programme of support for the residents and their children. WWA has a turnover of about £400k and there are opportunities to volunteer to help renovate, decorate and improve their houses and gardens.
All Saints Contact:
Claire Watts at chbanni@yahoo.co.uk
St Mary’s Contact:
Phoebe Bennett at phoebe.h.bennett@gmail.com
Home Start Wandsworth
Home Start Wandsworth - is a local charity which supports 28 families at present all of whom are facing a difficult period of time because of illness, disability, bereavement or social isolation. Each family receives a volunteer visitor once a week to help support the family. It has many volunteering opportunities either working directly with a family or supporting those that do. It has a turnover of about £35k.
All Saints Contact:
Marianne Coates at mariannecoates@btinternet.com
St Mary’s Contacts:
Hilary Newth at hhp@dircon.co.uk and Richard Phipps at Richard_phipps@swissre.com
Spires
Spires is one of the largest centres in South London for providing food and practical support for homeless people.
All Saints Contact:
Andy Stewart at agvstewart@googlemail.co.uk
St Mary’s contact:
Leo Martin at leo.martin@goodcorporation.com
Vulindlela Guardians
Vulindlela Guardians work tirelessly to providing schooling for Aids orphans in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe - our linked diocese.
All Saints Contact:
Chantry Westwell at chantrywestwell@btinternet.com
St Mary’s Contact :
Ivo Belohoubec at Ivo.belohoubek@chellozone.com
Christian Aid
Focused on poverty reduction in the poorest communities worldwide.
Contacts to be advised
West London Churches Homeless Concern
West London Churches Homeless Concern relieves poverty among street homeless people in West London by providing accommodation, advice and support. Each winter since 1999, churches of different denominations in West London have provided the venues for our night shelter. Many other churches provide financial and in-kind support
The night shelter at St Mary’s Church opens on 9th January 2012 and it will be running every Monday for 12 weeks. The Project is part of the West London Churches Homeless Concern (WLCHC) initiative to provide shelter for rough sleepers. Every night 2 churches open their doors to 35 homeless people, they are given dinner and a warm space in which to sleep. For more information go to www.wlchc.org/
Contact : Clemancy Gordon-Martin at clemancy@balfourbridle.demon.co.uk
Calendar of events 2012
Events and fundraising activities will be added to this calander during the year as we have confirmation details.
January/ March – West London Churches Homeless Concern
St Mary’s Church providing food and shelter every Monday evening for up to 30 clients
January/ Feburary – Wandsworth Womens Aid
29th January - WWA visit to Christingle services at St Marys & All Saints
4th Feburary - 5k Fun run from Putney to Hammersmith Bridge
March/ April – Bishops Lent Appeal and Vulindlela Guardians
Vulindlela Guardians Sponsor a Child Campaign
11th March - Lent Lunch for All Saints'
25th March - Lent Lunch for St Mary's
May – Christian Aid
June/July – Thrive
15th July - Parish Picnic
September/ October - Homestart
November/ December - Spires
17th November - Putney Gala Ball
Review of 2011 Financials
2011 was one of our most successful fundraising years ever and fitting that we are able to say goodbye to some of our outgoing charities with such wonderful donations, volunteering support and such an array of events. We raised a total of £49,019 across various musical events, Christian Aid Week, Vulindlela Guardians Sponsor a Child Campaign, London to Brighton Bike Ride, Parish Picnic, Christmas Fair, and the Annual Parish Gala Ball which alone raised nearly £12,000 for our charities (with a further £12,000 being raised for the Parish). A fantastic response in both Churches for Harvest Festival and the Toy Service provided much needed donations to our charities, and 8 volunteer Spires Cooking days over the year, which provided delicious hot meals for many homeless people and an extremely rewarding experience for all who took part. Our thanks as ever to absolutely everyone who has contributed in whatever way to help us achieve this fantastic result.
Our 2012 programme of events now sees us continuing to support familiar charities Spires, Vulindlela Guardians and Christian Aid, whilst extending our support and warmest welcome to our new charities Wandsworth Women’s Aid, Thrive and Wandsworth Home Start. We hope you will all learn about the organizations we support and the issues they face through listening to visiting speakers to both churches and by giving your time for volunteer programmes with your skills and practical support.
Parish Action focuses not just on donations but also organises many fundraising events. All of these could not be organised with out the support, enthusiasm and generous time of many parishioners.
For further information on how you can help visit www.parishaction.org or email parishaction@yahoo.co.uk
Current Events
London to Brighton on your bike!
The London to Brighton bike ride takes place on Sunday 17th June and having successfully raised over £1100 last year the Parish will again be entering a team of approximately 30 riders from St Marys and All Saints to tackle to arduous course and raise funds for Parish Action Charities and The British Heart Foundation. If you are interested in taking part please contact Rachel Brett by phone on 07979 302301 or by email at Rachel.brett@logica.com
2012 Vulindlela Guardians Sponsor a Child Campaign – April/May
Our parish currently supports over 300 primary school aged children orphaned by HIV in 7 schools in the Bulawayo area, Zimbabwe. Last year we raised over £8000 in total for Vulindlela Guardians. Our Sponsor-a-Child appeal raised £2980 enabling 50 new children to start in primary school this year.
School fees continue to rise and the World Health Organisation has withdrawn their feeding scheme at Junior Schools. Our support is needed more than ever to help provide one meal a day and uniforms for the pupils we sponsor.
Parish Action is looking urgently for new sponsors for these children so that they can continue their education and build a better future for themselves and for Zimbabwe. We would therefore like to ask all families in the parish to consider sponsoring one of these orphaned children so that they can stay in school for another year.
With a £50 donation you can really provide a child with one year of schooling. All donations go directly to pay school fees. Vulindlela Guardians has no overhead costs.
Please donate at http://www.justgiving.com/parishaction2012
To see the latest video from Vulindlela Guardians click on this link
Recent Events
Thrive – Every Little Helps Stall - March 2012:
Thrive sold an array of flower boxes, herbs, plants, salad boxes and other horticultural delights at St Mays Church on Sunday 4th March and All Saints Church on 11th March. Over £500 was raised which will go to support Thrives gardening projects in Battersea Park and Fulham Palace for people with disabilities or mental health issues.
West London Churches Homeless Project - January to March 2012
Magnificently led by Clemancy Gordon-Martin, St Mary's Church has been open every Monday evening this year from January though to the end of March to host 36 rough sleepers. This is part of the West London Churches Homeless Concern (WLCHC) inicative whereby 2 churches in southwest London are open each night to offer the guests a 3-course dinner and a safe, warm place to stay. The menu is leek and potato soup, followed by cottage pie and peas with ice cream and brownies for pudding - it seems to go down well!
Each week the meal is cooked by a team of 4 people with an additional 6 volunteers setting up the room, serving, clearing and washing up. In all we are 40 volunteers coming from St Mary's, All Saints, St Margaret’s and All Saints Fulham. The response has been terrific and we have a waiting list for volunteers!
The Forde Family Cooking Team (above) : Mary, through the Avenue Cookery School, is very generously sponsoring all the food for the project for which we are enormously grateful.
Wandsworth Womens Aid Gardening Day – 27th February 2012
On Sunday 26th February a team of volunteers from All saints and St Marys donned their gardening gloves and got out their spades and got to work on the garden at the WWA refuge in Wandsworth . The team tidied up the garden, stripped and cleared the flower beds and planted new bushes. Their efforts made a huge change to the look and feel of the refuge, for the women and children who reside there. Well done everyone who volunteered!
Parish Fun Run for Wandsworth Women’s Aid – 4th February
On a frosty and bitterly cold Saturday morning in February over 50 runners (adults and children) many in fancy dress, ran 5k along the Putney riverfront to raise funds for Wandsworth Women’s Aid. Brilliantly organized by Phoebe Bennett and Claire Watts we raised a fantastic £1535, and all felt a lot fitter as a result!
Christingle Services - 29th January
St Mary’s and All Saints Churches were glowing brightly at this years Christingle Services on 29th January which saw speakers from Wandsworth Women’s Aid in our Sunday morning services and raised nearly £500 selling Glow sticks and delicious cakes.
Little Acorns Charity Concert
Little Acorns Christmas Sing-along in December at St Mary’s Church raised a fantastic £1100 for Vulindlela Guardians, which will provide school fees for the 2011-2012 school year for many additional children.
2011 Putney Gala Ball
This years ball was held on 19th November and was a sell out for months in advance! 250 people were wined and dined in spectacular fashion and then enjoyed the live auction and raffle hosted by John Inverdale. Guests danced the night away to the excellent band 21 Fingers and the evening rasied a staggering £24,000 for the parish and its chosen charities.
VG Sponsor A Child Campaign
Our recent Sponsor-a-Child campaign has raised £2535 (including gift aid), with over 25 families and individuals making donations via the Justgiving website. For further donations or to monitor our progress, the website is http://www.justgiving.com/parishaction-vulindlelaguardians
Thank you again for your support and if you would like to speak to us directly about Vulindlela Guardians please contact: Chantry Westwell or Mike Sonachan
Email: chantrywestwell@btinternet.com or sonachan@hotmail.com
THESE ARE THE STORIES OF SOME OF THE ORPHANS WE SUPPORT, told by them:
Sandile Masuku (10)
Class 3c Insukamini Primary School, Bulawayo
Mother: deserted Father: unknown
I stay with my grandmother. She’s not feeling well. She’s HIV positive. Sometimes we spend two days no food no clothes. No fees, torn uniforms. I am sick with epilepsy. I want to be a doctor.
Cynthia Gonda (8)
Class 1 Insukamini Primary School, Bulawayo
Mother: deceased Father: deceased
I would like to go to school and finish and becoming a nurse, I want God to keep my Grandmother and Grandfather and see my successes in life and I also want to by a car and take care of my granys.
Michael Dube (13)
Class 4c Insukamini Primary School, Bulawayo
Mother: deceased 2001 Father: deceased 2008
I live with my grandmother my mother died I am 13 years old I am sick and I take pills. Nobody takes care of us.
Donelliwa Valentine (8)
Class 1a Nkulumane Primary School, Bulawayo
Mother: ill Father: deserted
My name is Donelliwa born in 2003 I live in Mpopoma. I stay with my grandmother and my young brother. I don’t have shoes and clothes.
Viola Josiah (8)
Class 1 a Helemu Primary School
Mother and father: deceased
My name is Viola. I lost my parents when I was very young. I cannot remember. I stay with my mother’s sister since 2003. I am very desperate because I need to go to school but my aunt do not have money. I sell tomatoes for rent and food I need your help.
Joyline Maguri (12)
Class 6b Insukamini School, Bulawayo
Mother: deceased Father: deceased
I live with uncle he don’t have money to pay us school fees. Our parents died 4 years ago. Uncle is not working he doesn’t have money to buy me uniform even food we go to school without eating.
Magret Ngwenya (7)
Class 3d Nkulumane Primary, Bulawayo
Mother and father: deserted
I live a difficult life my parents dumped me when I was 2 years old at my grandmother doorstep I don’t have birth certificate and we don’t have food. My grandfather is very cruel to us and talks bad words I am suffering.
Newpin Lent project – just look at the transformation!
Fundraising is not the only way Parish Action and the congregation can help change peoples lives. As part of the 2010 Lent programme we undertook a transformation project on the premises at the Newpin Roehampton for the benefit of all the people who use the centre and this project has to be our parish at its best!
Over three Sundays in Lent over 30 mums, dads and our young people donned their overalls and wellies and put their backs into the project.
Teams of people transformed a messy and unloved garden into a pleasant and usable space for community use. Other people, worked hard on decorating Newpin's Group Room, where the group therapy sessions are held, and repainting the lavatory and changing area.
Another team undertook the enormous task of clearing and sorting all the donations of clothes and toys that Newpin had been storing in the basement. Mike Sonachan and his team worked overtime to put up free-standing shelves in the basement, on which the sorted clothes can now be stored.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated with such energy and enthusiasm. It has made a massive difference to Newpin, and it was wonderful to have so many people coming together to work for the community and make such a personal contribution to one of our Parish Action charities. Special thanks also go to Paragon Interiors who very kindly donated the paints, equipment and the shelving.
Parish Action Contacts
Chairperson:
Leo Martin
Tel: 020 8789 4792
Email: leo.martin@goodcorporation.com
Communications:
Tracey Powers
Tel: 020 8874 7908
Email: tracey.powers@live.co.uk
