St Hilda's Church of England
St Hilda's Church of England, 01/2008
"The grant has helped us to improve our community facilities. At Christmas we collect food and toys and liaise with social workers, probation service, health visitors, schools, education welfare etc to refer to us people in need.
One referral came through probation - all we knew was that this 19 year old would be spending Christmas on his own. We sent him a food parcel (our parcels are not just basic they include chocolates and Christmassy things too!) and something prompted us to include an art set and a solitaire game. Later we got a letter from him to say thank you and to tell us that his Christmas had been transformed. It seems he was trying to come off drugs and was being supported by his sister and his mum. His mum died of cancer 3 months before Christmas and his sister died of cancer 3 weeks before Christmas. Our gifts not only gave practical help they convinced him that someone was thinking of him and cared about him. The extra food also allowed him to invite a friend to eat with him. What we did for him gave him hope."
