As previously recorded, two of our younger parishioners have been chosen by their schools to be part of a team on charity outreach programmes.
Alexandra College have a long historical association with the Hope Foundation and in 2015 they will be sending a team to Calcutta, India to work with some of the homeless and residents of orphanages in that city. This is an enormous undertaking as we can only begin to imagine the conditions of poverty in that part of the world.
Wesley College also has a long historical association with Habitat for Humanity and in 2015 they will be sending a team to build houses for homeless families in Oradea, Romania. Again, we can only begin to imagine the plight of these homeless families in a weather climate which sees much more extremes of heat and cold than we experience here in Ireland.
In a show of solidarity with the above mentioned charities and with Hannah Garvey and Heather Swanwick, the representatives chosen by their schools, the parish will be hosting a number of fundraising initiatives. Before the end of this year there will be Coffee Morning held in the Rectory on Saturday 13th December between 10:00am and 12:00noon. Also, the proceeds of our Advent Green Jar appeal will go to these charities. Your support for both of these appeals would be greatly appreciated.
Hannah and Heather have written as follows:
I have now been fundraising for Calcutta for three months. In the last two months in the church I have helped out with the ‘Bring and Share’ lunch and peoples generosity was greatly appreciated.
In the coming weeks and months there will be a coffee morning on Saturday the 13th of December to which all are welcome. During Advent half the proceeds of the Green Jar at the back of the church will also be going towards The Hope foundation.
Thank you all very much for your generous support.
Hannah Garvey
Thirty-six students including me plan to go to Oradea, Romania for ten days in June in order to build two houses. While we are in Oradea we will stay in an orphanage and spend time with the children there as Habitat aims to get the community involved as much as possible so that they can feel truly at home when they move into the house they helped to build. At the end of the ten days we will present the houses to the chosen families.
To fund this project each student has to raise a minimum of €1,700 in the coming months. I am delighted to be a member of Wesley’s Habitat team this year. This trip is a chance to make a real difference to those who desperately need homes and it is sure to be an experience of a lifetime, so thank you so much in anticipation for your support in fundraising for this incredible project.
Heather Swanwick
