The Link
April 2003
Volunteers Newsletter for
Crisis Centre Ministries
5p's NEEDED TO SAVE THE CRISIS CENTRE
Last month we told you that we had concerns about the finances of The Ministry.
Since then we have received some moneys from grant making organisations following the letters sent out last year by Ann Banks and her team. Praise the Lord!
But, we cannot afford to be complacent.
Many volunteers ask us how they can help. In fact every one reading this article can do something, no matter how small, to ensure the ministry begins to flourish.
We call it the 5p's method. Please consider carefully making a commitment to help us in one of the following ways.
Prayer. This underpins all that we do. Please pray for the work that the staff and volunteers do but please also pray about funding.
Provision. Any thing that is donated to us means we can make a saving on running costs. And we are not just talking about food items. From dishcloths to old computers we can probably find a use for everything.
People. We always need more volunteers. If each of you made it a goal to recruit a friend to volunteer we would double our work force and could be twice as effective in our ministry! We need volunteers in the office to help apply for funding and if we had more volunteers in the shop we could make savings by having more time to spend on stock control.
Publicity. Do your friends know about the crisis centre? If not tell them. The more people know about what we do through word of mouth the easier it will be to get funding. People that are interested today may become financial contributors tomorrow. Why not ask one of our staff members to come and talk to your church about our work?
Payment. It is great that we have been given money from grant making charities but such moneys are not regular, we have to apply afresh each year. Alongside such applications we need a regular amount of money coming in from individual contributors that we can count on. If you don't currently gift aid please consider doing so or increasing your level of giving, every little helps and can make a real difference to those we aim to help.
Well, that's the 5p method - alternatively you could simply try saving your real 5p's!
Every little thing you do is magic!
We've had a young man coming to the coffee shop over a number of years now during which time staff have helped him get his giro payments safely and fed him when hungry. A few weeks ago a volunteer in the coffee shop noticed his feet were hurting and returned the following week with a new pair of trainers for him. That sort of love begins to touch people's lives.
This young man is currently in hospital, one of our volunteers took him there and regularly visits him. He has been on heroin since the age of eleven. He has now told our volunteer that he wants to try detox.
There is a long way to go yet, but this story (one of many) is an example of how whatever you as a volunteer do, from washing up to greeting someone with a smile, is all part of God's love as shown to us by Jesus and it is appreciated in so many ways, well it's just........magic!!!
Thank you
NEW AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES AT THE WILD GOOSE
We constantly look at new ways to befriend clients that are lost or lonely.
Evenings and lunchtimes in the shop can be so busy that there is little time to chat. But things become calmer from around 1.30pm 'til 4.00pm and from the end of April we will be using these times to offer more activities to our clients.
This will include providing board games and running a video club. In addition the new style LITE course will run on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and we will be encouraging clients to participate.
If you or someone you know would like to help with this project, please phone Nick or Trudie on
0117 942 3088.
WE NEED YOUR PUDDINGS!
Is there somebody in your Church or neighbourhood who would be willing to make puddings for us to serve to the clients?
No matter how much we order from Tesco we always run out. Many of our clients need to have something sweet, they often can't manage to eat a whole meal.
If you can help please call me in the Wild Goose on 0117 924 5114. Jayne.
Family news...
Congratulations to Rami on the birth of Daniel!
Our prayers are with Paul Griffiths as he awaits an operation on his heart and with Jayne as she continues to do such sterling work despite the obvious worry about Paul's condition.
If you have any articles for the May issue of The Link please send them into the office or leave them with any member of staff.
Next month we hope to update you on the kitchen refurbishment!
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