Hi all!

Well, Christmas is almost here - approaching a bit fast! It was a joy to see my boys open the first door on their chocolate advent calendar - they were surprised to find that they were allowed chocolate for breakfast :-)

We are running a really exciting, fun and heartfelt Christmas campaign this year! If you haven't heard already, let me fill you in...

On the 18th December there will be a huge and exciting Christmas Fayre at Destiny Church in Shawlands with santas grotto, bouncy castle, lots and lots of fayre stalls, mince pies and a Christmas Carol service with the gorgeous Destiny Choir. In the midst of this fayre we will be giving away hundreds of hampers and toys to families and individuals suffering from the effects of poverty. Children of these families will get to see Santa and be a part of this magical Christmas event. Referrals are coming in from social workers and agencies across the City. The lovely people to benefit from our Christmas Campaign are selected carefully by their support workers and social workers to ensure the most vulnerable families in our City benefit from the campaign.

Last year at Destiny Angels our Christmas campaign was a huge success with referrals coming from 30 different contacts across the City. We supported approximately 500 people and many of those families and individuals came to our great big Christmas fayre to collect their hampers and join in with the festive fun. The kids collected a free toy from under the tree, the parents enjoyed a cuppa and a mince pie and the choir chanted some Christmas anthems amidst all the other festivities.

Have a look at some photos of last years fayre here

We would love you to get involved in making this Christmas magical for some of those families. There's lots of ways you could make a difference this Christmas:

1. Fill a hamper (hamper kits available at any Destiny Centre in Glasgow)

2. Take a hamper (or a few!) into your workplace, college or school - get everyone involved to fill it

3. Buy some goodies for a hamper (Shopping lists attached)

4. Buy a toy(s) to give to the children

5. Sponsor a hamper or a toy online

6. Have a clear out of last years toys for us to sell at the Fayre

7. Volunteer over the Christmas period (If you want to get involved come to our team time on Wed 8th Dec at 5pm where we will be co-ordinating the few weeks ahead. Address to come to is Gorbals Christian Centre, 37 South Portland Street, Glasgow, G5 9JL. We would love to see you there!

8. Come to the Christmas Fayre and have some fun!!

The deadline for the campaign is Monday 13th December. If you can't manage to get your items to any of the Destiny Centres by then just bring them on the day to the Christmas Fayre and hand in at the Destiny Angels stand. The Fayre will take place in Destiny Church, 1120 Pollokshaws Road, Shawlands.

Thank you so much for your kindness!

Susy

Susan Coupland
Project Co-ordinator
Destiny Angels Helpline 0333 900 0909
37 South Portland Street
Gorbals
G5 9JL

Textline - text help to 07533427700
www.destiny-angels.org
Destiny Ministries is a Registered Scottish Charity
Scottish Charity Number SC020228

What an amazing few years we have had. I recall that first week sitting at the helpline desk in a cupboard size office watching the phone like I was watching a kettle boil. Well you know what they say about a watched kettle, so thankfully David Thomson was there to shove me out the door to the community.

In that first week we received 5 calls to the helpline. The Foodbank (storehouse as it was then called) had been launched a few months previously by Sue Owen and we were giving out about 5 hampers a week to people who needed support in the church and local community.

We are now 3 and a half years on...

- with teams in Edinburgh, Stirling and Highlands

- about to launch in 3 other Cities

- about to launch a food programme partnering with 10 churches in Glasgow

- receiving referrals from 40 to 50 organisations and social workers

- answering an average of 60 calls per week

- running a drop-in where 20+ people come each week for immediate support

- aiming to give out 1000 hampers and toys this Christmas

- in our own building complete with drop-in, foodbank, clothing bank, furniture store and buzzing with volunteers every day

- ordering 8 - 10 pallets of food at a time

The floodgates are open and resource is flowing through our hands to families and individuals who are in need of support. We are here by the grace and provision of God and we truly believe that it is His plan and our purpose to love our neighbour. Who is our neighbour? To us, our neighbour is the person we pass in the street; the person we sit next to on the bus; the person who walks through our door; the person who calls our helpline; the person who sends us an email; the person who texts 'help' to our textline - I think you get the picture. Would you like to join the journey to care with us? Check out the links on our homepage under the 'Care With Us' heading.

Watch this space for more blogs.

Susy Coupland