Our parish aims state that we should be
Christ-centred, Faithful, Inclusive and Outward-looking.
As we planned our Celebrate300 project, we made a commitment to provide active support to three charities, each of which offers valuable, practical help to people at different stages of their lives. Two are very local to St Anne’s, supporting people in our near community, whilst the third works with disadvantaged people of all age ranges in several locations abroad.
The charities are:
Spear (spearlondon.org)
Standing for ‘Single Persons Emergency Accommodation in Richmond’, Spear is the London Borough of Richmond’s leading charity working with homeless people. Spear offers services to thousands of homeless and vulnerable people in South and West London, helping to transform lives. The charity provides “a range of services that together provide an integrated pathway from rough sleeping to independent accommodation”.
Welcare (welcare.org)
Welcare provides support for families with children up to the age of 18 years old across South London and East Surrey. It offers a “uniquely holistic, non-judgemental and neutral approach” in its services provision and helps parents and carers to use their own strengths and skills to nurture happy and confident children. Welcare’s values as a charity are based on its Christian background.
The McCabe Education Trust (mccabe-travel.co.uk)
The charitable wing of McCabe Pilgrimages, the Trust distributes around £200,000 annually in the form of grant aid to a number of projects to which it provides regular and sustainable support. The projects are located in the Holy Land, India and Nepal. They includes schools, a rehabilitation centre, a hospital and clinic and a home for disadvantaged children.
Our support for each of these charities is taking a number of forms. It has included welcoming representatives of each charity to “café evening” discussion groups, to raise awareness of the issues each organisation helps to address; working with the charity to provide volunteers for specific projects; and providing assistance in kind and time, as well as in the form of fundraising. The three charities are currently featured on the church notice board and are prayed for every month with particular emphasis for all those who work in and support them.