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/ 11 August 2016

17 families helped in joint Haringey project

Recently, at the end of July, Haringey organisations, including a local church, came together to support families in need.

Holy Trinity Church, through its community project, The Wellside, provided volunteers for a picnic, organised by Crutch Haringey and sponsored by the Antwerp Arms Association – as part of a series of summer events organised by Crutch. Volunteers from N:Serve, which aims to equip young people for mission, ran activities for local children on the day at the Bruce Castle Park.

Crutch Haringey, a Big Lottery funded project from Citizens Advice Haringey centres their work on providing support to Haringey residents who are in crisis. They provide practical help and support that people need to overcome immediate difficulties.

The Wellside, based at the church, comes out of a deep desire of the congregation to meet with and get alongside and serve the community around them. They know that for their faith and worship to mean anything, they must demonstrate in the way in which they relate to the world around us, and in the relationships, they form with those they encounter along the way. In support of this mission, a group of young people from N:Serve took up residence in the church for a week to get involved with the community, demonstrating the love of God through events for young and old.

The Antwerp Arms Association members, the group behind London’s first community pub, volunteered their time to prepare a wonderful spread of sandwiches, crisps, salads and drinks, which were much appreciated by the families that attended, all of whom had been referred to Crutch Haringey by partner organisations across the borough.

After collecting their lunch from the pub, families then made the short journey across the road to the park where volunteers from The Wellside and N:Serve with staff from Crutch provided fun and games including football, rounders, large board games, skipping ropes and a giant parachute. Members of the Wellside thought it was a fantastic day and received great comments from the families and the community partners.

Matthew Creber, Community Mission Associate at Holy Trinity, said:

“We were delighted to be part of this fantastic event, and to collaborate with Crutch Haringey in supporting families from Tottenham. The summer holidays can be a really tough time for parents who are struggling to make ends meet, and it is wonderful to see organisations and volunteers coming together to serve our community.”

Dean Wigzell, from Crutch Haringey, commented:

“It was a great day for all involved. For us, as a relatively new project, to see so many people across the community engaging with our work, it was really satisfying. The key thing for us was ensuring that our invited families were able to save money during the summer holiday period as a result of the picnic, which all in attendance felt was true. It was also a great opportunity for us to identify the types of support we can provide them moving forward.”

Alongside these community events the Wellside, run a regular community café and Wellside Kids all of which form part of the church’s mission to care for the local community, which is one of the most diverse and deprived areas in London. The Wellside enables the congregation to demonstrate the love of Christ through service to its neighbours. More information can be found on the projects on the Holy Trinity Tottenham website.

Photo Courtesy of Matthew Creber.


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