CHARITY OF THE MONTH - FAITH IN ACTION
February 2012 - Friend of the Phoenix CentreMany of you attending the 10.00am Sunday service would have seen me try to extract my youngest from the pulpit or rugby tackle him in front of the choir. No doubt you would have realised that my little one is not an average four year old! He is in fact autistic. A year ago he was fortunate enough to secure a place at the Phoenix Pre-school. This proved to be a turning point for all of our family. The Phoenix pre-school is for children with complex Special Educational needs and disabilities. These disabilities maybe life long, life limiting and sometimes life shortening. The Phoenix Pre-school is an oasis of calm located just outside Bromley town centre on the A21. The pre-school have highly qualified teams of teachers and teaching assistants. They employ a high ratio of staff to children and work with a wide range of health professionals to provide holistic support to children and families. Last year they purchased a ‘magic’ carpet. This is basically a large white mat with an overhead projector. A variety of programs can be selected to project onto the mat providing interactive fun for the children. The mat can turn into a fish pond where children’s fingers can create ripples and fish will swim up. When this was first installed the staff placed a severely physically disabled child on to it. For the first time in that child’s life they were able to move something by their own volition. No price can be put on this experience; the joy at such an achievement was not limited to just the child. The staff uses a range of communication tools such as PECs and Makaton signing to help give each child a ‘voice’. This is vital even for children with short life expectancy. Anyone who has ever cared for a newborn will know the frustration of trying to work out how to pacify a crying child. If only they were born talking! Whilst my youngest attended the pre-school I was offered opportunities to meet with other parents in similar circumstances. This is very helpful as we can swap tips and know we are not alone in our struggles. The Pre School also offered an introduction to Makaton signing, help with preparing paperwork for the education statement and support with the transition to school. My child was only at the pre-school for seven months however, he came such a long way in that time. In fact we all did. There is still a long way to go with my son but I will always be grateful for the support of the Phoenix pre-school.
We are holding a quiz night in the Change of Horses on 10th February
at 8pm and a cake & card sale 23rd February after the 10.00am
service, in support of this chartity. Thank you, Rosalind Luff (sponsor) |
March 2012 - WateraidOnce again we are supporting WaterAid as our charity of the month for March.Over the past three years we have raised £2500 to help people around the world gain access to clean water and sanitation, something that we can all take for granted. As usual, we shall be collecting 'jars of change' and there will be a cake sale after the Thursday morning Communion Service on 15th March. Look out also for how the children of our church can help too, with their WaterWorks! campaign. Remember "taps and toilets" save lives. For more information about WaterAid go to www.wateraid.org Thanks you. Irene and Mike Dancer Water Works!2.6 billion people have nowhere to go to the toilet, and 884 million people have no clean water.As well as supporting Water Aid, our Charity of the Month for March, we can take action to support the Water Works campaign by lobbying our MP to ask him to encourage the International Development Secretary to attend the meeting on 20 April 2012 in Washington. This High Level Meeting of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership is a unique opportunity for leaders from developing and donor countries to consolidate their efforts to end the crisis. For more information and to email your MP go to www.wateraid.org/waterworks January 2012 - SmileWe would like to thank all those kind people who helped us to raise the magnificent sum of £502.60 for our chosen charity. This will help at least three children to have a much needed operation so that they can smile again.The poetry evening was fun and enjoyed by all those who supported this event. The coffee morning was a huge success and our dinner was again enjoyed by our 10 guests. Our grateful thanks once again. Barbara and Sylvia |
About Charity of the Month at St. Giles
In matters of faith and religion talk can be easy.The bible teaches us that if we cannot love the brother or sister who we
can see how can we love God who we cannot see.
Every month at St. Giles we seek to put love into action by supporting a range of charities and good causes.
There is obviously a tremendous amount of need in our own country and across the world with many charities seeking our support.
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Every month a designated charity is supported by our
community. Funds are raised in various ways from Coffee
Mornings, Cake Sales, donations and sponsored events. There are specific charities which are supported each year on a regular basis, These are signified by 'St. Giles' as Sponsor in the table below. The remaining eight months each year are available for parishioners to choose a charity whose aims and objectives are close to their heart. |
The selected charities for 2012 are as follows
Month |
Charity |
Sponsor |
| January | Smile | Sylvia Addison and Barbra Thompson |
| February | Friends of the Phoenix | Rosalind Luff |
| March | Water Aid | Mike Dancer |
| April | Mary's Meals | Sara Phillips |
| May | Christian Aid | St. Giles |
| June | Friends of Abbeyfield | Judy Haines |
| July | MS Society | Barbara Campedelli |
| August | ZANE - Zimbabwe A National Emergency | The Rector |
| September | Cystic Fibrosis | Val Robinson |
| October | Poverty and Hope Appeal | St. Giles |
| November | CRISIS | St. Giles |
| December | Bromley Welcare | St. Giles |
If you would like any further information, or perhaps to nominate a charity for a future year, then please contact our co-ordinator Alison Reynolds tel: 01689 858929 alisonreynolds306@hotmail.com
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