Our charity work is very important to us. We have supported many charities in the past few years both globally and locally. One of the local charities is 'Dancing with Dementia'. This charity preserves and protects good health among people with dementia, their families and carers through the provision of a safe environment. They have the opportunity to hold regular meetings, to provide stimulation experiences through music and dance, to provide outside social trips and to give practical and emotional support, help and advice. We have very strong links with the Chairperson and have raised money and provided support for the Charity.
Another local Charity we have supported recently is Derian House who provide respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 children and young people across the North West. Derian House are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The care provided is free for families, but services cost over £5 million to run every year with only 12% of funding needed coming from the Government.
We have a particular close connection to the charity 'Kidneys for Life'. This charity raises money to enable research into kidney disease, transplantation and dialysis. The research work undertaken offers real hope for patients both now and in the future. This charity is particularly pertinent to two of our families at St Stephen's so each year we hold a non-uniform day to raise as much money as possible for this very worthwhile charity.
Another of the charities we support annually is the Farnworth and Kearsley Foodbank. We ask for donations of non-perishable goods on the morning we celebrate our Harvest Festival in Church. All donations received are then passed to our local Foodbank who provide emergency food to people in crisis.This year we also made a sizeable donation after our Lenten activities in school.
We established a link with the Serrekunda Lower Basic School in the Gambia in 2012 and have held a number of fundraising events since, raising a total of £2,800. Serrekunda has used this money to improve facilities for the children. Here are some pictures of the school and the children.
Since then our School Council has discussed further ideas to raise money for the school and in March 2016 organised a sponsored run which raised a fantastic £1,200. The school expressed a wish to improve their toilet facilities and to start a garden within their grounds, similar to our Eco Garden, in which they could grow food. Our children have written to the school and received letters back from the school children along with some photographs showing how the fundraising money has been spent. Take a look at the area within the school grounds and how it has been transformed.
We pay a monthly subscription to support the World Wildlife Fund to help protect some of the world's most vulnerable animals. The children chose to adopt a panda. World Wildlife keep us updated through quarterly newsletters which highlight the progress being made.
The School Council decides which other charities they would like to support. Here are some of the good causes we have supported:
