Are you free on Christmas day to lend a hand?

Maggs Day Centre in Worcester are looking for volunteers to help out at their day centre on Christmas Day. The centre will be open from 7.30am to 2pm and Maggs are looking for volunteers to work either 7.30 -11 or 11 - 2.30pm. Volunteers duties would include helping with the Christmas breakfast and Christmas Dinner, sitting talking and listening to clients, playing pool, cards etc. We are also hoping to open the Night Assessment Centre (NAC) from 5pm to allow rough sleepers to come into the centre with the specific aim of playing games and relaxing in a fun and supportive environment. Volunteers for this session need to be enthusiastic. Maggs will also need volunteers to help with the preparation of a small buffet meal in the early evening. The times for volunteering here are 5 to 7pm and 7 to 9pm. If interested then please contact Mel Kirk, our Volunteer Co-ordinator, on 01905 25027 ASAP.

We are now about half-way through our three year commitment to support the Maggs Day Centre in Worcester so this is a good moment to remind people in the parish of what the centre does and of our commitment to them.

Maggs Day Centre is an open-door, free-access day centre in Worcester, catering for anyone who is homeless, isolated or lonely across Worcestershire.

It is the only centre of its type anywhere in the county and people come there for help from all the outlying areas as well as from the city of Worcester itself. It offers a range of services, including:

Day Centre: a direct access day centre with food, shelter, friendship and support, washing/bathing facilities and laundry facilities;

Resettlement Team: six places in supported move-on flats for the single homeless;

Clothing Store: providing free clothes, bedding and domestic items to those in need;

Rough Sleepers’ Project: on & off street support for the single homeless;

Night Shelter & Assessment Centre: in a funding partnership with other agencies Maggs opens its doors to provide overnight shelter, warmth and personal safety to rough sleepers during the coldest weeks of the year, resettling as many as possible as an integral part of the process.

The Day Centre itself is at the core of the work they do. For those in real need, Maggs represents a safe, non-judgmental and welcoming place in which they can take refuge from some of the difficult daily challenges of survival on the streets or at the margins of society. The staff of the day centre not only provide immediate aid as described above but also help their clients to re-enter society.

I was fascinated to learn how the centre started. In 1984, John Maggs, a homeless man in his mid forties, was found dead in a derelict building near the city centre. John Maggs had had a particularly difficult life and spent the last ten years of it sleeping on the streets. As a result of his death a group of people from local churches around the city got together and formed an action group to try and raise funds and awareness to help overcome the issues of homelessness. The Bishop of Worcester offered the use of St. Albans, a Norman church on Deansway in the heart of the city for use as a day centre. The centre is still there and continues it invaluable work. As you can see the church connection has been there from the start.

Since April 2007 we have sent £1600 to the centre plus many deliveries of tinned, clothes, and household items. These have been very gratefully received by the staff at the centre and I know they have gone to help the people who really need them. However we are committed to provide at least £3000 over three years so we still have some way to go. If you feel you would like to make a contribution there are many ways you can help.

Give money, A one off payment, a regular donation or even a legacy.

Give a practical donation; food (tinned and non-perishable goods please), clothes and shoes, sleeping bags, bedding, towels, kitchen equipment.

Give your time as a volunteer at the day centre or as a fundraiser.

Best of all undertake to run a fundraising event in the parish for the Maggs Centre.

I have been to the centre on several occasions and there is no doubt in my mind that this is a very worthwhile charity to support. If you want to see for yourself the invaluable work they do you will be made very welcome. Just call Sarah Jeffery on 01905 25027 and she will be happy to show you round.

Bill Andrewes September 8 2008

A hive of activity involving worker bees from all over the parish signifies the build up to this years Christmas Fayre. After the resounding success of last years fayre, we are hoping for another tremendous weekend, one that reflects the efforts of our dedicated team of organisers.

I urge you to put the dates in your dairy now: the weekend, Saturday and Sunday 15 and 16 November, it is an ideal way to enter into the festive season; there will be decorations, Christmas gifts and quality homemade goodies on sale. All of these flew off the shelves last year as visitors recognised what bargains they were getting. There will be more room to enjoy the home cooked refreshments which will be available throughout each day. Advent Carols will be sung at the conclusion of the weekend, at 5pm on Sunday.

On behalf of all our readers, congratulations to Menith Wood on winning the Worcestershire Village of the Year competition, a richly deserved award.