Charity Giving

Throughout the year, people at St Michael & All Angels devote considerable time and energy to charitable work. We’re very grateful to all those who help us raise money for a range of charities, at home and overseas. A list of charities we've supported in recent years can be found on the Links page.

St Michael & All Angels' Charities for 2012

- to be supported in our Lent Appeal, Quiz Supper, the Bedford Park Festival (June 16 to July 1) and Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal

This year St Michael & All Angels will devote its charitable activity, throughout the year, to three charities:

The Upper Room (right) A centre for the homeless and disadvantaged in West London, which provides meals and assistance with the search for employment and housing. We have a longstanding relationship with the Upper Room, and several members of St Michael's are volunteers, helping to cook, serve and clear up. If you would like to join them, please contact the Parish Office on 020 8994 1380.

$Description: D:\2 AAFH Patients\IMG_0057[1].JPG$ Hamlin Fistula UK, a charity which provides medical expertise, curative surgery and preventative midwifery services in Ethiopia to women suffering from birth injuries. As well as raising money, we are encouraging people to knit blankets for the women receiving treatment there (right).
You can download the pattern here.

and CEDARS, a charity with a consciously Christian ethos, dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged children in and around Chiswick. CEDARS provides a safe place for young people to congregate, with a range of activities designed to develop confidence and life skills. This is the first time we have been involved with CEDARS and there will be many opportunities for volunteers.

St Michael & All Angels' Charity payments in 2011

At St Michael and All Angels we have decided to focus our giving mainly around three charities each year. One of these is always a local charity and one an international charity. In 2011 we supported the Upper Room, USPG, Anglicans in World Mission and CEDARS. Funds raised during the Lent and Advent Appeals, from collections at the Christmas Eve services, on Charities Sunday, at the Quiz Supper as well as from the Bedford Park Festival were shared equally between these three. This totalled £20,162.49 so each charity received just over £6,720.

The Upper Room at St Saviour, Wendell Park, cares for the homeless and disadvantaged in West London. In 2011 more than 27,000 hot free meals were served. A wide range of additional support and essential equipment, including clothing, blankets and sleeping bags (272) and toiletries (2,171) were provided and 17 homeless people were referred for housing. A shortage of beds in night shelters and hostels continues to be the biggest concern. Many of the clients have no option but to live in squats. UR4Jobs continues to assist jobseekers with their paperwork and CVs and has helped 125 people into employment during 2011. UR4Driving helped 26 ex-offenders to pass their driving test as the first step into gainful employment and a stable lifestyle. During the year, several members of the St Michael’s congregation volunteered regularly in the kitchen at the Upper Room; we donated a quantity of warm clothing at Christmas and half the Harvest Gifts and gave a dedicated performance of the St John Passion which raised a further £726.48 towards the work of the charity.

CEDARS is a local project dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people in Chiswick through provision of drop-in facilities, activity groups, counselling and support. Much of our donation is spent on payments for the youth workers and the running costs of the centre.CEDARS would like to employ additional workers to counsel those children who demonstrate aggressive behaviour and to increase the number of hours made available to the ‘Young Mums’ group which meets on Monday mornings. On a practical level, the money we have given has enabled the purchase of a second hand minibus to replace one no longer usable, a second table tennis table and a special CEDARS banner. The charity is currently seeking volunteers who could run activity sessions, help with homework or teach cookery or other skills.

USPG Anglicans in World Mission is an international charity providing aid, teaching and spiritual support through the Anglican Dioceses across the world. We have been supporting two specific projects: HIV/Aids Home Support in Namibia and Tree Planting and Agricultural Development in Madagascar. The Namibian project is now complete and a final report will be available later this year. In Madagascar, a region frequently hit by cyclones, trees have been used to stop farmland from being washed away. A total of 7,850 trees have been planted and there has been a noticeable change in the attitudes of people living close to the reforestation area. College students have received hands-on teaching and they have planted 5,000 square feet of eucalyptus trees and 1,000 square feet of ravintsara (a plant with medicinal properties).

The Charities Group is also responsible for organising St. Michael’s response to Christian Aid Week, which last year raised £1,237.16 including the gift aid tax reclaim, and for the distribution of gifts brought to Harvest Festival, which were shared between the Upper Room and St Mary’s Convent and Nursing Home.

CHARITABLE FUNDS RAISED IN 2011

Bedford Park Festival £8,753.01
Lent Appeal £2,736.21
Quiz Supper (net) £1,577.31
Book Festival £6,804.00
Christian Aid Week £1,237.16
St. John Passion £726.48
Charities Sunday £94.00
Advent/Christmas Appeal £6,926.96

Total £28,855.13

St Michael's Advent Calendar &
Christmas Appeal 2011

St Michael's Advent Calendar helps raise money for our annual Christmas Appeal. In 2011 the works were created by 24 local artists and were sold by silent auction, at a party in the Parish Hall on Sunday January 8th 2012. The artists generously agreed to donate a third of the sale price to the Appeal charities.

Cards for Good Causes at
St Michael & All Angels 2011

Each year, through Cards for Good Causes, we sell hundreds of Christmas cards for charities at our shop in the Church (see Cards for Good Causes shop at St Michael's for opening hours). The charities are listed here. They include St Michael's own cards - the 2011 image (right) was a photo by David Beresford.

Harvest Thanksgiving 2011

At our Harvest Thanksgiving in October, we distributed food and other goods to the Upper Room and St Mary’s Convent & Nursing Home, with generous support from Orchard House School and Chiswick & Bedford Park School.

Chiswick Book Festival 2011

A team from St Michael's also runs the Chiswick Book Festival. The 2011 Book Festival in September raised a total of £4,976 for St Michael's and three book-related charities, which each received £1,244. The charities were:

RNIB Talking Books Service and Books for Children. The Festival's 2010 contribution has been used to sponsor the recording of Sister by the Chiswick author Rosamund Lupton, and will be acknowledged on the CD.

InterAct Reading Service, which provides a reading service for stroke patients in hospital. One of its patrons is Chiswick resident Richard Briers. It was one of five winners in the Guardian's Charity Awards 2009.

The Letterbox Club, which works with local authorities to send monthly book parcels to children aged 7 to 11 in foster families, to improve their educational outlook. It's part of the Book Trust and one of its patrons is Jacqueline Wilson. This year it will deliver almost 30,000 parcels to 4,600 children in 140 local authorities across the UK. The Festival's 2010 contribution will be used to fund a pilot project in Enfield.

St Michael & All Angels' Charities for 2010

- supported by our Lent Appeal, Quiz Supper (Saturday May 8), the Bedford Park Festival (June 12 to 27) and Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal

This year St Michael & All Angels has been devoting all its charitable activity, throughout the year, to three charities:

St Michael's Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal 2010
- and total charity fund-raising for 2010

Thank you to everyone who contributed to St Michael's Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal. It raised £5,225, completing the year's fund-raising for St Michael & All Angels' three 2010 charities: USPG - Anglicans in World Mission , The Upper Room and The Lamb Foundation in Bangladesh.

A total of £18,703 has been divided equally between them - £6,234 each. A further £3,955 has been donated to the Upper Room from the Bach Cantatas concerts. A further £1,102 went to USPG from disaster relief collections for Haiti and Pakistan.

Further sums were raised for St Michael's own projects, the St Michael & All Angels Trust, the charities supported by Cards for Good Causes, and the Chiswick Book Festival charities (for details, see below).

Christmas Pudding by Oliver Simkin St Michael's Advent Calendar helps raise money for our annual Christmas Appeal. In 2010 the 24 pictures were created by children from St Michael's creche, Children's Church and Junior Choir (right). In alternate years, the works are created by 24 local artists and sold by silent auction, with a third of the sale price going to the Appeal charities.

The Christmas Appeal 2010 proceeds - including the collections from carol-singing at Turnham Green tube station on December 15th, and our Nine Lessons & Carols, Crib Service, and Midnight Mass services - were donated in their entirety to the three charities that St Michael’s supported throughout the year:

The Upper Room, feeding the community in need in West London
The Lamb Foundation in Bangladesh, and
USPG - Anglicans in World Mission

Sums raised for charity in 2009

St Michael's Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal 2009

Three Wise Men St Michael's Advent Calendar helps raise money for our annual Christmas Appeal. In 2009 the works were created by 24 local artists and were sold by silent auction, at a party in the Parish Hall on Sunday January 10th 2010. The artists generously agreed to donate a third of the sale price to the Appeal charities. The Appeal raised a total of £6,884 and the proceeds went in their entirety to:

Bhola's Children in Bangladesh
St Mary's Convent & Nursing Home in Chiswick
The Upper Room, feeding the community in need in West London

This sum included the collections from three of our Christmas services - Nine Lessons and Carols, the Children's Crib Service and Midnight Mass - and the money raised by our carol singers at Turnham Green tube station and other events.

Cards for Good Causes at St Michael & All Angels

St Michael's Christmas card 2009 Each year, through Cards for Good Causes, we sell hundreds of Christmas cards for charities at our shop in the Church (see also Cards for Good Causes shop). The charities are listed here. They include St Michael's own cards - the 2009 image shows St Michael & All Angels in the snow, photographed by David Beresford.

Harvest Thanksgiving 2009

Chiswick Book Festival 2009

A team from St Michael's also runs the Chiswick Book Festival, though this doesn't directly form part of the church's charitable giving activities. The 2009 Book Festival raised a total of £6,195.36. St Michael's and three book-related charities each received £1,548.84. The charities were:

RNIB Talking Books Service and Books for Children. The Festival's contribution has been used to sponsor the recording of Claire Tomalin's The Invisible Woman and Sandi Toksvig's children's book The Littlest Viking, and is acknowledged on the CDs.

Bedford Park Festival 2009

Crowds on Green Days Bedford Park Festival names The Microloan Foundation (which makes loans to the poor in Malawi) and the Upper Room (feeding the community in W4) as its charities for 2009.

Final figures for this year's Festival are still being compiled and will be published as soon as they are available.

Christian Aid Week 2009

For several years we have held a Quiz Supper for Christian Aid. This year's was on Saturday May 16th, at the end of Christian Aid Week when we also take collections.

The total funds raised during Christian Aid week 2009 were £2,246. These were made up as follows:
£195 from collection at Turnham Green tube station
£200 from collection on 10th May at morning church service
£387 from other donations during the week
£1465 (after expenses) from Quiz Supper

Lent 2009

Meals at the Upper Room Our Lent charity in 2009 was The Upper Room, which has been helping people in need for over 18 years. The charity provides a broad range of services for the homeless, vulnerable, and socially disadvantaged of West London, including serving over 30,000 meals a year (right). We raised £3,141, through Lent lunches and collections in our Lent Jar in the church.

Bach Cantatas

The Upper Room also receives the retiring collections from the Bach Cantatas concerts on Sunday evenings in the church.

Sums raised for charity in 2008

St Michael's Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal 2008

Three Camels Many people gave very generously to our Christmas Appeal in 2008, whether at the Christmas services, to our Carol singers at the Tube station, or through individual donations. We raised £6,429 which was shared between the following charities:-
HAY: Hounslow Action for Youth,
The Upper Room, feeding the needy in West London, and
The Lamb Health Project in Bangladesh

You can click on the names to find out more about them.

Bedford Park Festival 2008

Bedford Park Festival named Musequality
as its charity for 2008

The Bedford Park Festival in 2008 raised over £12,000 for two local charities: £9,000 for Musequality, funding music projects that change young lives; and £3,111 for the Upper Room, feeding those in need in west London; as well as substantial sums for St Michael & All Angels Church and its Trust. Thank you to everyone who donated so much time, effort and money.

Musequality is the local charity set up in 2007 by violinist David Juritz, leader of the London Mozart Players. It is using the Festival funds to support two projects:
- Ban Mok Cham, Thailand - building a performance centre, and paying for instruments and teachers’ salaries;
- M-LISADA Band, Kampala – paying for a promotional CD of Christmas carols. You can help them further by buying a copy for £8 USPG Bangladesh at St Michael's or by e-mailing david@musequality.org.

Lent 2008

Our Lent charity in 2008 was USPG - Anglicans in World Mission - and its Lent Appeal, focussing on the Church of Bangladesh (right). We raised £2,239.71 for USPG, through Lent lunches and collections in our Lent Jar in the church.

Sums raised for charity at St Michael & All Angels in 2008

In 2008, we raised £25,493, spread across six separate charities (see below). The Charities Group is led by Mary Pears. If you'd like to help in any way, please contact her via the Parish Office.

Charity giving in 2008	£
USPG - Anglicans in World Mission Lent Appeal	2239
UPPER ROOM including Bach Cantata donations (also gifts from Harvest Festival ) Bedford Park Festival proceeds	3013 3111
MUSEQUALITY Share of Bedford Park Festival proceeds	9000
CHRISTIAN AID Quiz supper and tube station collection	1800
ADVENT APPEAL (includes collections at Christmas Services and carol singing at Turnham Green tube station
Lamb Project Bangladesh	2110
Upper Room	2110
Hounslow Action for Youth	2110
TOTAL FOR 2008	25,493

In addition, funds were raised for the repair and redecoration of St Michael & All Angels Church, for St Michael & All Angels Trust Fund and for the Bishop's Discretionary Trust.

Links to these charities' websites are on the Links page.

Christmas 2007

At Christmas 2007, we raised money for people in need, through our Advent Calendar & Christmas Appeal. The 24 pictures were painted by local artists, including this one by Alfred Daniels (below right).
Feeding the Deer by Alfred Daniels
Four charities benefitted from the 2007 Christmas Appeal: the LAMB health project in Bangladesh; the Christian school in Ramallah, Palestine; the MicroLoan Foundation, a Chiswick-based charity which funds start-up businesses in Malawi; and Hanworth Action for Youth in west London.

The 24 pictures from the Advent Calendar were sold through a silent auction, with a third of the proceeds generously donated by the artists to the appeal. It closed on Friday January 4th 2008: you can see the final bids here.

The Christmas Appeal also receives the collections from our four main Christmas services, after some costs, and from carol-singing at Turnham Green tube station. At Christmas we also sell Cards for Good Causes in the church.