Homelessness Action Group
In October 2021, following our Parish Lenten Group reflections on Pope Francis’ Apostolic exhortation ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, the Parish Homelessness Action Group was formed.
We support the inspirational work of the charity NOAH Enterprise and not for profit organisation Keystage Housing in finding solutions to homelessness in Luton. Their work is person centred providing holistic support through housing, health, employment and skills training.
NOAH Enterprise has an excellent volunteering programme, and our aim is not to replace this but to support both organisations coordinating practical donations, fundraising and awareness.
DONATION BINS and amazon wish lists
Donation Bins
We have now agreed with both NOAH and Keystage to house one each of their donation bins which have arrived and can be found in the courtyard of the Church.
For NOAH, (Blue Bins) they ask for men’s clothing (no undergarments, unless they are brand new and packaged); men’s coats and jackets; men’s shoes; toys; and bric-a-brac. You can also Gift Aid your donations for them by filling out a Gift Aid form, copies of which will be kept at the back of church and also in a plastic pocket attached to the bin. The donations will either go directly to those in need or will be sold in their charity shops to raise income and continue to fund their services.
Keystage (Yellow Bins) have asked for tinned foods and non-perishable foods e.g. cereals, biscuits, chocolate; and socks, gloves, scarves and toiletries.
Amazon Wish Lists
Another way to support these amazing organisations, if you are able, is via Amazon wish lists.
The link to Keystage’s is https://amzn.eu/3HSwWDw: our contact there has chosen to make it more Christmas focused but has said that after Christmas she will make it more generic.
For NOAH the link is https://amzn.eu/1YCWRpo. Our contact there has mentioned that it is being updated so different things may be added over time.
We do want to emphasise that we know there are many good causes out there and also how difficult things are financially, particularly at the moment, so please don’t feel under any pressure to donate to the bins and the Wish Lists – or indeed to either. If you are able to contribute in some way, this will be very much appreciated by both NOAH and Keystage.
Thank you all so much for your ongoing support which is much appreciated by both NOAH and Keystage. If anyone is interested in becoming more involved with the group, please contact Monika Westgate at monikamoko@hotmail.com
Volunteering Opportunities
NOAH have told us of a number of volunteering opportunities they have:
- Catering – working in our kitchen in support of our chef at breakfast, lunch or evening meal times
- Welfare – engaging with our service users in conversation, listening to their issues, providing friendship, engaging them in recreational activities
- Outreach – accompanying our outreach workers as they engage with homeless people on the streets
- Retail – Join us as a Store Associate, working back of house or on the shop floor in one of our retail outlets
- Administration – Work in our new Store Support Centre as we support customers and staff alike.
- PAT testing – Help us make the most of our donations by offering us some time with your PAT testing qualification.
- Delivering – Join us as a conveyor and help keep our shops full.
- Fundraising – helping raise funds for NOAH or get involved in staging events
- Professional – we always need help with services, be it through professional trades men and women through to business professional in finance, marketing, PR etc.
To apply online, click here. Alternatively, you can download and complete this form and email to volunteering@noahenterprise.org, or if you wish to know more, telephone 01582 728416.
Fundraising and Awareness
Since October 2021 we have been involved in:
NOAH Awareness Event
Several parishioners supported a fundraising event together with Woodland School at the Luton Mall on the 7th December 2021 raising £292.11!
Advent Donation Drive
Parishioners Peter Metcalfe and John Saliot designed a superb Advent Light Box Calendar to raise awareness of the donation drive and to celebrate the work of our many Parish Groups. Marta O’Grady and Katie Beard did a fantastic job on the design and printing of the Advent cards for the light boxes.
Collections of duvets, bedding, men’s winter clothing, shoes, cutlery, crockery, toiletries and food were organised and distributed to both NOAH and Keystage Housing. We also located and donated two PCs and two TVs to Keystage Housing for their Hub.
Duke of Edinburgh Volunteers
Pauline Cross organised a volunteer programme for our young parishioners doing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. They participated by designing and distributing leaflets advertising the donation drive in Harpenden, door to door collections, and carrying out a survey about awareness of NOAH and Keystage Housing.
They also wrapped chocolates as gifts for individuals staying at the Keystage Homelessness Hub in Luton over Christmas, and delivered these to them.
A further donation drive was organised and advertised to the wider Harpenden Community by the Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteer group on Saturday 22nd January 2022.
They contacted local and global companies online asking for donations of USB sticks, which are an important resource enabling Keystage clients to store their personal information and data. Thank you to the Westfield Group, Transcend and Finastra Ltd for their generous support of this initiative.
Concerts
In addition, Sonorite Music concert raised £318.11 for NOAH with their October concert and Our Lady of Lourdes Choir donated £150 from their Christmas collection.
The Luton Catenian Circle organized ‘Masquerade’, a fabulous fun evening of Opera on Saturday 26th February which raised a fantastic £2228.75 for NOAH Enterprise.
Katie Metcalfe is running a 3 series ‘Sing for…’ programme at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. The first 2 series have raised £1483.00 so far for NOAH and Keystage Housing! This has been used for hot drinks, soups, porridge, taxi fares, move-on starter packs and most recently to create a memorial garden and a Jubilee BBQ! This has been great fun to participate in and there is still time to join the 3rd series starting in September!
Our volunteers offer whatever time and skills they have and there is no requirement to make a regular commitment. Everyone is welcome! For more information please contact Cathy Seaton via the Parish Office.
Easter Eggs!
Thank you to everyone who donated Easter eggs. These were gratefully received by the residents of the Keystage Housing Homeless Hub.
