For day 21 of our Advent Calendar, we will be making a donation of £100 to a charity that we all associate with Christmas but does wonderful work throughout the year. The Salvation Army.The Salvation Army is a worldwide Christian church and registered charity.

From their website:- The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland is part of the wider international Salvation Army, which is at work in 128 countries, demonstrating Christian principles through practical support; offering unconditional friendship, and very practical help to people of all ages, backgrounds and needs.

Our message is based on the Bible; our motivation is the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, which can transform people’s lives and change them for the better.

We believe that people consist of body, mind and soul, which means that they have both social, physical and spiritual needs. Our services are offered unconditionally to people of all faiths and none.

Inspired by our faith, we help individuals to develop and grow in their personal relationship with God and engage in a programme of practical action to serve the community, to help those who are suffering and in need, and to speak out against social injustice. 

It’s day 20 of our Advent Calendar and we will be helping a charity that is new to us, Conquest Art. We will be donating £100 to the Halesworth group to help them continue the good work they do. They meet at the United Reform Church in Halesworth every Wednesday.

From their website – We aim to help people who live with a disability or long-term illness by providing Conquest Art groups around the country and encouraging many more people to come and join us.  Our group members find fulfilment through joining in, whatever their level of ability and disability, and experience a sense of achievement and satisfaction from exhibiting their artwork.

Everyone is encouraged to create from their imagination, develop their own style and work at their own pace in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere,   This is important, as a person’s disability can sometimes affect their level of creativity but many who initially doubt their abilities are surprised at the results they achieve.

Using our simple methods, newcomers can soon get that first line or image on the page.  From there they can develop their skills and try new ideas with help from the team volunteers.  For members with particular needs we can provide specialist equipment such as head pointers, scented pens for the visually impaired or specially adjusted easels.

For the 19th day of our Advent Calendar we will be donating the proceeds of the money raised at the recent Christmas Lights Switch-on to Children in Need. On 24th November we had our cuddly toy stall at the event and this raised £250.

Not long to go now to the big day. It’s day 18 of our Advent Calendar and today is the day we have our Toy Service. The service will take place at the United Reform Church in Halesworth at 10 am, where toys will be collected and given to under privileged children.

Day 17 of our Advent Calendar. Lucky Ncube is a student in Zimbabwe that we have been supporting through his studies. Through the charity Phumuza – Share the Load we have followed and supported his progress at Lubuze Primary and Avoca Secondary schools. He is now a boarder at Deziki High School where he has taken his A-level exams. Although Lucky has completed his studies, the club will be making a donation of £100 to help other students through the work that Phumuza does.

Phumuza – Share the Load is a Zimbabwean based registered Charity,  set up to provide:

• Vulnerable children with schooling assistance and other basic needs.
• To provide psychological support to vulnerable children at Insiza District in Matabeleland South / Zimbabwe.

‘Phumuza’ means ‘to ease the burden’ or ‘to share the load’.

Together we give priority to health, education and reconstruction projects based on the principle of self-help. We try not to run projects but give support to local initiatives, small and large. People all over the world can now can now play role in Zimbabwe by supporting these vulnerable children to gain the skills they need to build their country.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds.” – Abraham Lincoln

Founders – Sukoluhle Togwe-Bailey, Amina Hughes, Chenketai Mano and Tabirai Naze Hove –  are supporting many schools and projects in the region.

The main task this coming year is to raise money for the schools and the orphans already being supported by Phumuza.

For day 16 of our Advent Calendar, we will be donating £150 to Sightsavers.

Sightsavers work to eliminate avoidable blindness and promote the rights of people with disabilities. 

Sightsavers’ vision is of a world where no one is blind from avoidable causes and where people with disabilities participate equally in society.

For the 15th Day of our Advent Calendar our members will be holding our annual collection for the Halesworth Dementia Carers at the Rainbow supermarket in Halesworth. Come along and say hello.

Halesworth dementia Carers’ Fund is a local Community Organisation supporting people living with dementia and their carers and their families.

Our coverage is Halesworth town and surrounding villages which is the same area covered by the Cutlers Hill Surgery.

We fund raise by holding raffles, stalls at fetes and other events, carried out by volunteer helpers; and thanks to the generosity of ‘The CUT’ – special matinee film viewings.

The money raised goes towards paying for high quality replacement care, transport and other support, for people with dementia, their carers and their families.

To mark the 14th day of our Advent Calendar we will be making a donation of £100 to the charity Malaria No More. This is enough to buy 20 mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of this deadly disease. 

Did you know? Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal in the world. Far deadlier than the animals people tend to be scared of like sharks, snakes and lions – even deadlier than humans. Why? Because mosquitoes transmit diseases like dengue fever, Zika, yellow fever, encephalitis – and malaria, the deadliest of them all.

It’s the greatest killer disease in human history – but we can do something about it. We have the tools to fight it!

The culprits aren’t particularly ferocious or terrifying. In fact, you need a microscope to even see them. But tiny malaria parasites, transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes, are thought to have killed half the number of people that have ever lived. Pretty scary, isn’t it?

Malaria’s vice-like grip on the continent of Africa, where almost 90% of malaria deaths occur, makes it one of the greatest causes of poverty in the world. And yet, it costs just £1, less than the price of your morning coffee, to save the life of a child with malaria.

For day 13 of our Advent Calendar we will be donating £150 to The Teenage Cancer Trust

Around seven young people aged between 13 and 24 are diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK. They need expert treatment and support from the moment they hear the word ‘cancer.’ We’re the only charity dedicated to making this happen.

We create world-class cancer services for young people in the UK, providing life-changing care and support so young people don’t have to face cancer alone.

We are half way through our Advent Calendar and for day 12 we be making a delivery of donated Christmas food to the Lowestoft Night Shelter now known as the Access Community Trust. 

Their vision is to promote social inclusion for the community benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society.