Partners in mission
Tim Wood shares how one local church and Through the Roof are helping fulfil God ’ s mission together and invites your church to consider it too …
As a local fellowship not far from Through the Roof ’ s offices , St Giles ’ and St George ’ s Church , Ashtead , have been extremely faithful supporters of the charity ’ s work – and the Wheels for the World project , in particular , for many years . We certainly wouldn ’ t have achieved what we have without their prayers , talents , time and finances . The church ’ s World Mission Committee designated the charity as one of their Mission Partners several years ago . This means that Wheels for the World receives a significant monthly gift via standing order . Also , the charity is regularly prayed for , and profiled in their parish newsletter . In turn , we provide prayer points and stories for their newsletter , as well as the occasional short video or in-person talk at events . In addition , several members of the fellowship have participated as team-members on Wheels ’ trips over the years . Some also play an active role in volunteering to refurbish wheelchairs at the workshop in our warehouse .
The church is also home to Karen , an active volunteer , who , despite her personal experience of disability has
www . throughtheroof . org dedicated huge energy and passion to raising funds – particularly through promoting Wheelchair sponsorship as a Lent initiative each year . On top of all that , the church provides Mission Partners with free use of their venues – which enables our Board of Trustee meetings and staff team gatherings to meet in their accessible facilities which is a huge added blessing . It was thanks to this partnership that the Barn Dance event ( also featured in this issue ) was able to benefit from a free venue . Thank you so much St Giles ’ and St George ’ s – we are extremely grateful to everyone involved for all your commitment to this vital work .
If your church is interested in partnering with the work , please contact Tim @ throughtheroof . org to discuss how we can mutually benefit from a Church and Charity link .
Heel , toe , give it a go ! Dancing with a purpose
Alexa Elstub shares details of a fantastic event she organised to raise funds for Wheels for the World … The parish of St Giles ’ and St George ’ s in Ashtead , Surrey , was recently treated to a fabulous Barn Dance evening , raising over
Putting the ‘ fun ’ into ‘ fundraising ’ with a barn dance at St Giles ’ and St George ’ s in Ashtead .
£ 1,500 for the work of Wheels for the World . A group of talented musicians and a wonderful caller from the church community who have known of the incredible work by Wheels for many years , played the night away . Over 100 people , young and old , swung their partners around St George ’ s church ! The event was a wonderful success with so many from the local church and community joining together to truly put the ‘ fun ’ into ‘ fundraising ’!
With free use of the venue thanks to the generous support of Ashtead parish , a bring and share supper , amazing home-grown caller and band who gave their time and talents for free ( not even charging for the plasters for their sore fingers after all that practising !) and a group of eager volunteers decorating the church and organising the raffle , costs were kept to a grand total of zero ! All money raised went directly to fund wheelchair distributions in developing countries .
As a bonus , £ 300 cash found by a Wheels supporter on a pavement leading up to the event was added to the total after police confirmed it could be donated after 28 days of being unclaimed . This increases the total for Wheels for the World to over £ 1,800 which we know will change many lives . God certainly works in mysterious ways !
Well done Alexa and team , and thank you Ashtead !!
Easyfundraising
We ’ re excited to announce we are now registered with easyfundraising , which means you can raise FREE donations for us every time you shop online . Over 7,000 brands such as Argos , John Lewis and Tesco will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself !
These donations really mount up and make a BIG difference to us , so we ’ d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign up and support us . It ’ s completely FREE and only takes a moment .
You can find our ‘ Through the Roof Charitable Trust ’ easyfundraising page at https :// bit . ly / TTReasyfundraising
Thank you so much !
Neil Salter publicises Wheels at St Giles ’ and St George ’ s .