Charitable Giving
As a church we believe that we are called to be generous and compassionate to those in need and to practically support individuals and organisations who seek to alleviate hardship and poverty, tackle injustice and oppression as well as sharing or being Good News following the example of Jesus.
Each year St Mary’s allocates an amount of its income to be distributed to individuals or charitable organisations whose actions and efforts seek to do just this.
These funds are overseen and administered by a small team within St Mary’s called the Blessing Others Hub who assess each application for a grant on a case by case basis, against a set of pre-agreed criteria. We believe it is prudent to review the impact of the giving we make to ensure we reach those who will benefit the most from our donation and where we hope it will make a real difference.
We have a process in place where organisations and charities are invited to apply to us annually via our grant application form below. Applications will be assessed on an individual basis.
The Blessing Others Hub would like to thank everyone involved for their support and the opportunity for us to reach out and make a real difference to those who truly are in need.
Geraldine Brown
Leader of Blessing Others Hub
Some of the ways the Blessing Others Hub’s funds were distributed in 2022:
- Helping the Boaz Project to provide wifi across their 4.5 acre site
- Funding to train and equip new volunteers for the Winchester Street Pastors
- Funding work in a pregnancy crisis centre in Thailand with the Church Mission Society
- Making Albanian Christian films and translating films from English to Albanian
- Helping those on low or zero incomes access counselling support at the Olive Branch in Winchester
- Helping the Wildfire Youth Project
- Donating to the Winchester Beacon
- Funding a Home Start project in Kings Worthy
