Dorset Humanists’ Winter Appeal

Last year, Dorset Humanists’ Winter Appeal raised £800 for the St Paul’s Shelter for homeless people in Bournemouth, and this year we are hoping to match or beat this sum in aid of two more local charities.

This year, we are supporting New Forest Night Stop and Refuge. Jane Bannister (1941-2013), a former Chair of Dorset Humanists, who sadly passed away this year, was very supportive of both these charities.

A member of Dorset Humanists has generously pledged to donate £400 if all other contributors together match this sum by 20th December. You can bring cash or cheques to our 14th December meeting or pledge your amount by contacting David Warden [ email: chairman(at)dorsethumanists.co.uk ]. Cheques should be made payable to Dorset Humanists (Winter Appeal) and can be passed to David Warden or our treasurer Dariusz Andersen.

New Forest Nightstop provides the only emergency overnight accommodation for homeless 16-24 year olds in the homes of trained and approved host households around the New Forest. The support given by Nightstop improves not only young people's self-esteem but also their life chances, and their outcomes for employment, training, health and housing are much improved. Nightstop is a unique and integral service in a multi-agency approach to youth homelessness.

http://www.newforestnightstop.org.uk/aboutus.html

Refuge is committed to a world where domestic violence is not tolerated and where women and children can live in safety. Refuge aims to empower women and children to rebuild their lives, free from violence and fear.

Refuge operates a three-pronged approach which involves:

• Providing a range of high quality services for abused women and children. Their national network of services supports women and children to regain control of their lives and move forwards in a positive way.
• Advocating for improvements to domestic violence policy and practice, and the implementation of legislation to meet the needs of abused women and children.
• Helping to prevent domestic violence through campaigning, education, training and research.

http://refuge.org.uk/who-we-are/

Please give generously and help us to support the work of these worthy charities.