Act locally to change the world

Welsh Refugee Council
Diocese of the Highveld
Year of the Child
Marie Curie Cancer Care

Food for failed asylum seekers

This year’s Harvest Appeal in the parish of Trellech and Penallt was for tinned and dry foodstuffs for failed asylum seekers who are destitute in nearby Newport.

Boxes were placed in the two parish churches, the Methodist chapel and the Bush Inn in Penallt and soon filled up. Mrs Stephanie Coutts took a car boot full of gifts to the Welsh Refugee Council’s office in Newport and handed them over to Mr Michael Barnett, one of the case workers.

A cheque for £85 completed the offering.

Knitting for The Highveld

Usually Harvest Thanksgivings are about the produce of the land and sea being brought to God. But the produce of people's love being presented to God is just as important.

This knitting is a 'Harvest' of lots of ladies' time, talents, and love, and it turned St Mary's, Risca, into a patchwork of coloured blankets, jumpers, poncho's, bootees, scarves, mittens and knitted dolls.

The latest people to knit beautiful blankets for us are: The Risca & District Ladies' Guild Hobbies Club, Dorcas Edmunds, Vera Thomas, and the Ladies of Bethany Baptist Church.

Thank you all so very much.
Gill Hollister

There go the last of my boxes!

I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who over the past five years have sent me toys, blankets, knitted jumpers etc. and money to send them to South Africa. But the time has come to hand this important contact with our link diocese of the Highveld to someone else. This Harvest appeal has been very successful with 130 boxes already packed and more things arriving daily. This consignment will leave at the end of November. Please contact Irene Doull on 01633 420701 after 30th November and she will be able to tell you what the future arrangements will be.

Susan Collingbourne

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations' 'InternationalYear of the Child'.

The Children's Committee are planning to hold a Diocesan event at Caldicot Castle to enable us to spend some time together with our children and young people from across the diocese. It is suggested that we each 'do our own thing' throughout the year, highlighting our commitment to our younger members, and then come together for a big-bash.

The castle is booked for September 19th 2009, and our diocesan friends, the MU are on-board, as are the Boys Brigade. I still await confirmation from Church Lads and Girls, and GFS. Please put this date in your diaries NOW. If you log on to www.yearofthechild2009.co.uk you will see just some of the ideas being suggested for the year ahead.
If you, or someone you know, can contribute in some way to the diocesan event at Caldicot Castle, please get in touch with me. My email address is den.richards@btinternet.com

Revd Dennis Richards

I am the community fundraiser for Marie Curie Cancer Care in South East Wales and every year I organise the supermarket and Street collections for our Annual Great Daffodil Appeal which takes place between January and March. This appeal is extremely popular in the run up to St David’s Day as you can imagine. We are collecting though to raise money to fund the care of terminally ill cancer patients in their homes. We have a dedicated nursing service who work in the community and through appeal such as this we are able to continue to fund them and provide the care that is so desperately needed to both patients and their families. All of the care is provided completely free of charge.

We are always in need of more people to spend a few hours collecting in their local town centre or supermarket. This year I am hoping that within South East Wales alone we can raise £42,000 which will funs this care. This is the equivalent of paying for 2100 hours of nursing care in the local community. If you could offer your time and help, please contact me.

Claire Notman, Community Fundraiser-Events, Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth
Tel: 02920 426068 Mobile: 07881 811798
email: Claire.Notman@mariecurie.org.uk