Sunday 29 April 2007

Citizens Advice Bureau


The CAB recently invited us to attend one of their monthly staff meetings so that we could explain to the staff and volunteers there, what Storehouse does. Roy and Julia visited them on Thursday 26th April and on their behalf Roy writes: "A couple of us from WSVC Storehouse Ministry went to the CAB to explain what we do and to show what is in a food bag for a single person. We also told them where the food for the bags comes from and explained that we work closely with most of the charities and agency groups around Bury.

We also spoke a little on Helping Hands and what they can do - we hope to provide for those in need and those not well off.

It was very exciting for us to let CAB know how we run and to have them on board with the other agencies. We feel it went very well and the CAB can call us if ever they needed help for the people they have contact with. It is all about looking after one another with the help and grace of God."

Wednesday 25 April 2007

Open Door

On Thursday the four of us visited Open Door at Colchester. Running from the premises of Colchester Baptist Church, Open Door is a daily drop-in centre, open from 10-2 Monday to Friday (apart from Thursday). As well as offering food and drink at a nominal charge, the centre also seeks to provide a place where poor and marginalised people can find a welcome and a listening ear in a safe and controlled place. Over the last year the average number of daily visitors has been around 50-70 persons per day, with needs varying from unemployment, loneliness and relationship breakdown to homelessness, drug and other addictions and mental illness etc. At least 4 people serve in varying capacities each day, and qualified counsellors are available when required.
It was wonderful to meet Jimmy, one of the volunteers, and to hear the miraculous story of what God had done in his life: healing him of hepatitis B and C and delivering him from a 35 year hard drug habit, without a day of cold turkey. But the miracle lives on in his life as he wants to share what God has done for him with others. It was great too, to see how the marginalised and those on the edge of society had found a place where they felt welcome and at home, but with sensible rules and guidelines in place. This was not just a jolly day out for the four of us though… we saw it as a fact finding opportunity for us to learn how other people currently do what we would love to see here in Bury St Edmunds.

Friday 20 April 2007

Amazing!

We had an amazing afternoon at Storehouse today. We had previously arranged with Gemma from West Suffolk College to meet her and the E2E students at the Vineyard Centre at around quarter past one, so that they could bring us all their shopping, and help pack it away. This was what they had bought with the money they raised at the college a month or so back (see earlier post). Before they arrived we looked in the cupboards and we were running really low on tinned vegetables and fruit, and in the last 3 days alone around 10 food bags had gone out, leaving just one family bag (double) and one single bag of food in the cupboard – there was not enough to make up another single bag.

At about one o’clock a lady phoned the Vineyard Centre and asked if it would be OK to drop off some food and just as the students were turning up, she and a friend also arrived and unloaded bags and boxes of food for Storehouse. The students then unloaded Gemma’s car and brought their shopping upstairs and for about the next half an hour they helped Margaret and Roy to restock the cupboards. It was amazing to see all this provision of food come in just when we needed it, and just after Storehouse had given so much away. It was great too to hear how the students had enjoyed doing what they had done, and how they were pleased to be able to help other people. So a big thank you to all these people, and a huge thank you to God, who demonstrated how he provides for us just when we need it.

Wednesday 18 April 2007

Requests update...

April started quite quietly as far as food bag requests go, but in the last week alone we have seen over 15 bags go out to people in need. At the moment we are running particularly short of the following items;


  • toiletries

  • long-life milk

  • sugar

  • instant mash.

As far as the milk and sugar are concerned, smaller boxes and bags are really good, as it means we can put more items in a single bag. Thank you.

Sunday Evenings

If you were at Sunday at Six this sunday just gone, you will have heard Margaret giving details of how we will have a collection point for food and toiletries there. We will still have our usual collecting bucket on Sunday mornings, and you can also drop items in at the Vineyard Centre in the morning, Monday to Friday. Details of all these places can be found on the main WSVC website (see other links).

Wednesday 4 April 2007

Requests

As we continue to provide food and toiletries for people in and around Bury St Edmunds, we inevitably run short of some things from time to time. At the moment we are particularly short of


  • toothbrushes and toothpaste

  • deodorants

  • instant mashed potato

  • mixed vegetable tins

March Stats

In March, Storehouse received 33 requests from 10 locally based agencies. This resulted in us giving away 40 food bags to people in need in our community. We can only do this through the involvement in this minstry of everyone who donates food and toiletries. Thank you.

Supported Housing

Acorn House in Bury St Edmunds recently invited us to attend an open morning they were holding. Acorn House is run by the Riverside Group (formerly English Churches Housing Group) and offers supported housing for single mothers. It was great to be able to meet some of the staff and tenants, and to learn about what Acorn House does, as we have been able to help them with the occasional food bag in the past. We followed this up on 29th March when the four of us visited Cangle Junction Foyer in Haverhill. Also run by the Riverside Group, The Cangle provides supported housing for young people aged 16 – 25, whilst their associated property, Coupals Court offers supported housing for single mothers. This is taken from their website: “The Cangle, as well as providing supported accommodation, aims to enable disadvantaged 16-25 year old young people to achieve self-reliance and independence, to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood. We have two broad objectives, firstly to equip residents with the skills necessary to live independently and secondly, to become economically active in order to sustain their independence.” We hope that we might be able to help them in the future, in the event that any of their tenants are in need. A big thank you to all of the staff who were so helpful, and made us feel very welcome (and the food was exceptionally lovely!).