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' 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.