church action on poverty annual review 2011-12

7/30/2019 Church Action on Poverty annual review 2011-12

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annual review2011

Whereisthechurchtoday?

Theworldisinaprettyperilousstateandthethingthatiscausin

gmostotheangstisthestateothe

worldeconomy.Weseepeopleacrosstheworldsettingupanti-cap

italistprotestcampsinmajortownsand

cities.ThecampoutsideLondonsStPaulsCathedralhascausedth

eChurchoEnglandaewheadaches,as

thiscathedralisseenasatouristattractionandpeoplegladlypay

moneytoenterit. Someothismoney

ischangedintostocksandsharesinnancialmarketswhichsho

uld remindus othestorywhereJesus

enteredthetempleandthrewoutthemoney-changers.

ChurchActiononPovertyisrunningacampaigntoClosetheGap

betweenrichand

poor,andbuildasocietythatis moreequalhealthier,happier,sa

erandairer.The

peoplewhoareprotestingoutsideStPaulsandinothertownsand

citiesacrossthe

worldhavethesameaim.

Ituptothechurchinallitsormstomakehervoiceheardinsocietytoday,and

remember thesegreatwords:Comorttheafi

ctedandafictthe

comortable.

annual review2012

Revd LewisRose ischair ofChurchAction onPoverty

TheUKacesthemost prolongedsqueezeonhouseholdincomesinmoderntimes.Yet

weremainthesixth wealthiestnationontheplanet. Povertyinad

evelopedcountryis

scandalousandimmoral.

Through201112, ChurchActionon Povertyhascontinuedto inspir

ea movementochurches,

Christiansandgrassroots communityactiviststospeakoutagains

t theunjustandunequal

distribution owealth. OurClosethe Gap campaign is mobilising

thousands toGive, ActandPrayorchange.Meanwhile, our grassro

ots

programmeshavesupported hundredsopeople tobecomeactive

leaders

indisadvantagedcommunities.

InthisReview, you canread someothestoriesohopeand

transormationachievedthrough ourwork.

Revd LewisRose ischair ofChurchAction onPoverty


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sustainable livelihoods

GIVING, ACTING AND PRAYING TOGETHER...

a voice to people in poverty

We support people in poverty to achieve income security and paidemployment which promotes dignity and justice.With our partner project Thrive, weve made progress towards agreeing a Code or ResponsibleLending with a number o major high-cost lending companies (see opposite). It would deliver FairPrices or over 300,000 people on low incomes who are in debt to these companies.

Thanks to our campaigning, the Methodist Church, Baptist Union, United Reormed Church,Society o Friends and Church o Scotland are all now in the process o becoming LivingWage employers, and the issue is on the agenda o Catholic Bishops and the Church o

Englands General Synod.

We work with poor and marginalised people to help them have a FairSay in decisions which affect their lives.

We continued to help local authorities use participatory budgeting (PB) toenable people in disadvantaged areas to have a say in how public money is

spent. We also launched The Peoples Budget, a campaign to help local peopledemand a say over spending. And our ChangeMakers team in Manchesterused an innovative PB process (see the photo on the let) to get local people inpoor areas o Manchester to start organising action or change.

Our Community Pride Unit continues to work alongside marginalised andexcluded people, giving them the skills and confdence to become activecommunity leaders. See opposite or a story illustrating the dierence thiscan make. We are now scaling up by sharing our approach with others.

We mobilise churches to work withothers to overcome poverty. We want thechurches to actively promote a bias to the

poor, both internally and externally.Nine national Christian agencies and denominations are nowactive partners in our Close the Gap campaign (see photo).

Over 500 people and churches are now part o an activeprayer community which prays regularly or our work toClose the Gap. We also provide high-quality worship andliturgy resources regularly or our supporters.

Our Poverty & Homelessness Action Week is becoming a

major event, reaching more churches each year. Over 200events took place in 2012, raising awareness and changingattitudes. We are now using the Week to build communityundraising partnerships across the UK.

RtRevdJohn

Sentamu,

ArchbishopofYork

Ifwereallyareallinthis

togetherweneedto startactinglike it

mobilising churches


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...TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR

A Fair Voice

Sarah Whitehead is a lone parent roma disadvantaged area o Salord. Atertaking part in a training programmewith our Community Pride Unit, shehas become a leader in her community.She organised a community garden inthe alleyway behind her home, set up aneighbourhood orum, and is regularlyinvolved in civic decision-making.

Hear Sarah tell her own story atwww.church-poverty.org.uk/afairvoice

Comingtogethergivesyou

astrongervoiceandshows

thatyoucanmakeadifference

Fair Prices for creditMaureen Hagan (centre in the photo)is a ull-time guardian or two teenagegranddaughters. She has no savings andis reliant on benefts, and has had to userent-to-own companies to purchase anew soa, bed, washer and cooker.

These lending companies exploittheir low-income customers. With ourtraining in community organising,Maureen and others in her communitysuccessully challenged the companiesto behave more airly.

Hear Maureen tell her own story atwww.church-poverty.org.uk/highcostcredit

People werelistening

tome.Anana,amother,

anormaleverydayperson.

Itwaselectrifying.


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FinanceWhere our money came rom in 201112

Grants 671,695

Donations 83,246

Campaigns and events 18,551Membership subscriptions 42,988

Legacies 2,166

Bank interest 104

Total 818,750

What we spent it onFundraising 34,159

Governance 9,432

Thrive 45,167

Community Pride 116,330

ChangeMakers 199,629

Participatory budgeting 159,848

Close the Gap 94,539

Action Week 6,958

The Peoples Budget 41,498

Campaigns, events and other projects 93,897

Total 801,457

Copies of the full audited accounts are availableon request from Ade Arogundade,Church Action on Povertys Finance Manager.

AcknowledgementsCouncil o ManagementElspeth Brighton, Kathleen Carter, Jenny Cooke,Millicent Dews, Julie Green, Helen Hood, AlisonJackson, Bandi Mbubi, Norbert Mbu-Mputu,

Brian ONeill, Lewis Rose, Adrian Smith, RoseTyrrell, Jackie Worthington, Sandra Breen.

Sta and volunteersDavid Adams, Ade Arogundade, AmandaBickerton, Mohammed Bhana, Greg Brown,Marcia Brown, Niall Cooper, Roland Dale, SarahDumpleton, Leah Elcock, Liz Firth, Geo Fletcher,Janet Gee, Tracey Herrington, Ruth Jackson,Andrea Jones, Joyce Kay, Ocia Koranteng, JennyLazarus, Clare McBeath, Hermine Moor, DanielNkrumah, Gilles Pradeau, Liam Purcell, LorraineShaw (RIP), Anne Stewart, Phil Teece, AlanThornton, Mark Waters, Sarah Whitehead.

Funders and partnersBaptist Union, Friends Provident Foundation,Health & Social Care Volunteering Fund,John Laing Charitable Trust, John MooresFoundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust,Lloyds TSB Foundation, Marsh Christian Trust,MB Reckitt Trust, The Methodist Church, NESTA,Northern Rock Foundation, Oxam, Tudor Trust,United Reormed Church, Waterside Trust,Young Foundation.

Find out more and get involvedat www.church-poverty.org.uk!Dale House, 35 Dale Street, Manchester M1 2HF

Telephone 0161 236 9321 Fax 0161 237 5359

[email protected]

@churchpoverty

acebook.com/churchpoverty

Company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, number 3780243.Registered charity number 1079986.

Sandra Dutson,

committedgivertoChurchActionon

Poverty

IknowChurchActiononPoverty

usesmy moneytoensure

thevoicesofpeopleinpovertyareheard

Church Action on Poverty depends on donations to sustain our vital work.Give now at www.church-poverty.org.uk/give or call 0161 236 9321 and ask for a donations form.

church action on poverty annual review 2011-12

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