Building Stronger Communities

Parish magazine article from March 2023

We are very fortunate to have some strong communities in our area, where many people invest time in serving and helping those in their village and the wider community.

At a time when so much of the world seems to be becoming more protectionist and inward-looking, it’s encouraging to see so many outward-looking local people who want to make a difference for others.

Last November, I wrote about the great team of volunteers and generous donations that enable the Foodbank to operate over a wide rural area; however, many other community projects also operate in our villages. Some build community by creating spaces for people to form new friendships and strengthen old ones, while others focus on helping those facing a crisis.

Across the villages in the area, there are monthly meals (breakfasts and lunches), regular gathering spaces for tea/coffee and chat, youth groups, scouting and guiding groups, events groups, arts and craft groups, many sports teams, and so many more. Many of these have restarted in the last year as COVID concerns have receded, and some of them are new, like the weekly Cosy Café in Kineton.

Alongside all the events that bring people together, numerous projects and charities in our villages provide support to those in need. They include initiatives such as Carers4Carers, the Bereavement Café, and the GIFT project.

GIFT is a project run by Kineton church that looks to help local people in need to make a fresh start.

We operate in Kineton and the surrounding area of South Warwickshire, providing holistic wrap-around support for people experiencing problems due to isolation, poverty, mental health and other challenges.

We work with families escaping abusive relationships, people with mental health problems, and people so overwhelmed by circumstances that they stop looking after themselves/their accommodation, etc.

We help people make a fresh start by providing practical support for people in their homes, sourcing furniture and appliances, basic DIY, clearing out, cleaning and decorating, help with budgeting, mentoring support, grief counselling, and more.

We have links with local tradespeople who are generous with their time and skills, and we have great connections with Orbit Housing and statutory agencies to help push for support when needed.

The GIFT project has been run by a small team of volunteers from local churches for many years. However, the number of people needing help is increasing. In the first two months of this year, we’ve supported 4 major projects, including decorating, major house clearing/cleaning, and helping furnish a home for a single parent that has moved into one of our villages.

If you would like to help by…

· Volunteering time to help with moving furniture, cleaning, befriending, DIY, admin support, etc.

· Making a donation or running a fundraising event

· Donating furniture or white goods (we don’t have any storage space, so we usually only take furniture when we can pass it on directly)

· Providing a storage space (we’d love to have the space to store furniture that’s offered so that we could respond to client needs more quickly).

…then please contact
barry@edgehillchurches.org

A huge thank you to everyone who gives their time, energy, talents and finances to invest in the many groups and organisations in our area. It‘s thanks to your generosity that we have such strong communities. I hope we can all continue working together to make them even stronger.

Rev Barry Jackson