Outreach

Outreach at Lion Walk Church is about raising awareness of human need and supporting community projects worldwide. We regularly support projects in our local community and across the world, with funds raised from our lunchtime concerts and from donations from members.

We have been able to undertake fewer activities during 2020-21 due to Covid-19, but we have continued to support many charities financially. Under normal circumstances, we collect for the Christian Aid door-to-door collections during Christian Aid Week, and through the period of Harvest Thanksgiving, we normally gather in donations for the local Soup Run, and also run a fund-raising Christmas Tree Festival and Christmas services. In 2020, despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, we raised a total of £9188.25 for Commitment for Life, for Christian Aid partners’ work in Bangladesh. We also raised £328.33 at our Christmas Service: this went to the Colchester Night Shelter, and a similar amount (from Outreach Funds) went to Next Chapter.

We normally support one ‘focus charity’ for a one-year period, and then we also donate smaller sums of money to other charities, with a particular focus on those based in our own community or smaller charities. Last year’s focus charity was Acorn Village, and our current one, starting in May 2021, is The Friends of St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired, Makeni, Sierra Leone

Charities supported in September 2021 (total £1800)

Focus Charity:
The Friends of St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired , Makeni, Sierra Leone (see details below)
Other donations:
Education Support supporting the wellbeing and mental health of teachers and lecturers in the UK
UNHCR emergency support for refugees in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries
Refugee Council support for refugees when they have reached the UK
Refugee Action Colchester support specifically for refugees in the Colchester area
Community 360 based in Colchester, an independent, charitable infrastructure organisation whose aim is to inspire groups to seize opportunities and become more enterprising and sustainable
RNIB Reading Services provision of talking books and newspapers, books and music scores in braille, for blind and partially sighted people
SSAFA The Armed Forces Charity providing welfare, physical and emotional support, to UK armed forces regulars, reservists, veterans and their families
Alzheimers Society support and advice for people with dementia, and their families and carers
Railway Children action and support for homeless street/railway children in India, East Africa, and the UK
Carers First Essex help and advice for carers (including young carers) in the Essex area

Details of charities supported in May 2021, to a total of £2500.

The Friends of St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired is our new Focus Charity. Their UK base is in West Bergholt, near Colchester. St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired is in Makeni, Sierra Leone, and has recently re-opened after closure due to coronavirus. Having helped to fund new buildings, and a farm, the Friends have just successfully completed the project to fund (together with an Austrian NGO) 50% of a school vehicle, and that is now on order. Now they are looking at ways to continue to support the school over the next 12 months and beyond, at this time when grants are harder to obtain. One possibility is that charities may be willing to fund a specific area of the school curriculum such as woodwork or tailoring.

Grassroots
Grassroots is an independent grant making charity based in North-East Essex. By helping local community and voluntary groups in Colchester and Tendring with small financial awards we aim to improve the lives of local people, in particular those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable, isolated or lonely. Grassroots is the working name of Colchester and Tendring Community Trust.

Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
Support for coronavirus relief in India, which is facing an unprecedented wave of coronavirus infections. Hospitals are overwhelmed and people are going without potentially life-saving treatment.

Womankind Worldwide
Together with our partners we are strengthening women’s movements and changing the lives of women and girls around the world. We believe every woman should be able to live without fear of violence, have a say in decisions that impact her, and control her own life.

Benin Christian Support
Based near Clacton, the vision of Benin Christian Support is to go out to the people of Benin, Africa, with a message of hope. Going beyond the towns and out into the villages, taking with us the resources that will help make their lives better, by working alongside the local people, demonstrating God’s love through education, healthcare and community development.

Mamie Martin Fund
The Mamie Martin Fund supports the secondary education of girls in schools in North Malawi. We provide money for school fees for girls who have gained a place at one of our partner schools, but who cannot afford to the fees. In 2021 we are supporting 139 girls across six schools. Social pressures compounded by school-related costs impact on girls’ ability to complete their education, with girls from the poorest households at the greatest risk of dropout. Education, especially for disadvantaged girls, is an important catalyst in progress towards women’s empowerment and a more gender-just society. Keeping girls in school and – providing access to quality, inclusive education – can have powerful multiplier effects. Educated girls and young women not only have greater opportunities to fulfil their own potential, but can be powerful role models in their homes and communities, can challenge expectations for their role in society and make informed decisions about the health of themselves and their families.

Freedom from Torture
Torture is used to silence and destroy lives. We won’t let it. We stand with torture survivors, providing therapy and support, fighting for change together, for tolerance and justice around the world today. With survivors, we campaign for change in the UK and across the world. Together, we raise awareness and influence decision-makers about torture and its impact.

CBM UK – The Overseas Disability Charity
Formerly the Christian Blind Mission, but now with a wider remit, CBM UK is transforming the lives of people with disability, their families and communities in the poorest places of the world. Driven by Christian values, we tackle poverty, prevent blindness, improve health and change the lives of disabled people.

UNICEF
donation for International Covid Vaccines (made in February 2021)

We also supported four charities that were regularly supported by the Wednesday Lunch Fund, in memory of church member Shirley England who worked so hard for many years to enable visitors to the lunchtime concerts to enjoy a light lunch and contribute to the charities. These were:
Essex and Herts Air Ambulance
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH)
St Helena Hospice
The Rob George Foundation

Here are details of charities supported in February 2021, to a total of £900

Grassroots
Trussell Trust
Seven Rivers Cheshire Home, Great Bromley
Excellent Development
Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity Covid-19 Staff Wellbeing Appeal
Beacon House
Essex and Herts Air Ambulance