Dorset Humanists ‘Jane Bannister Winter Appeal’

Our Jane Bannister Winter Appeal has raised thousands of pounds for local and national charities in previous years, and this year is in support of Michael House and Mosaic. Please give what you can to these two very worthwhile local charities.

The appeal is named in memory of Jane Bannister who was Chair of Dorset Humanists until 2009, and an active supporter of, and fundraiser for, several charities.

For full details of how you can donate to our 2016/2017 Winter Appeal please see our December bulletin.

http://dorset.humanist.org.uk/dorset/DH-Bulletin-December-2016.pdf

Mosaic is a Dorset-wide charity offering a pathway of support to bereaved children, young people and their families. They also work with young people who are facing the death of a loved one.

Mosaic provides individual, family and group support. Every child has the opportunity to attend our residential weekend programme where they can meet others and share their experiences. Dorset Humanists’ donation last year went specifically to support this wonderful residential weekend at Leeson House near Swanage.

The charity receives 30% Local Authority funding allocated to support for bereaved children in Dorset. All other money has to be raised through applications to The Big Lottery, Children in Need, charitable trust grants, fundraising, corporate sponsorship, individual support, and donations from local groups.

Michael House is more than just a hostel; it’s a home and our mission has always been to help anyone who is vulnerable. We are a dry house, offering supported accommodation to both male and female residents.

Michael’s Mission

· To provide emergency and longer-term accommodation to homeless people and provide related day services.

· To provide encouragement, advice and support to our clients in an environment which enables them to gain a greater sense of self-worth and to move towards a more independent life.

· To work in co-operation and a collaborative way with the relevant statutory agencies and with other voluntary organisations.

£250.00 will provide care and support for one homeless person for one month.

Homelessness has been a major problem in the Bournemouth area over the last twenty years and we always operate to full capacity. Official Rough Sleeper Counts, which tend to minimise the situation, are consistently in double figures. Soup kitchens have been crowded throughout this period. By providing respect, care, and support to all residents, we aim to restore self-esteem, assist with life skills, access further education, facilitate training for employment to enable individuals to rebuild their own lives and reintegrate back into the community. Michael House is a place where our residents feel “safe, warm and inspired”.

For full details of how you can donate to Dorset Humanists 2016/2017 Winter Appeal please see our December bulletin.

http://dorset.humanist.org.uk/dorset/DH-Bulletin-December-2016.pdf

Winter Charity Appeal 2015/2016

Our Jane Bannister Memorial Winter Appeal this year has been a great success. The final total raised was £1,494.88 which is a fantastic effort, and we would like to offer our sincere thanks to everyone who so generously donated. The money raised has been split equally between this year’s nominated local charities, Mosaic and New Forest Nightstop.

Dorset Humanists has raised thousands of pounds in previous years for worthwhile charities. The appeal is named in memory of Jane Bannister (1941-2013) who was Chair of Dorset Humanists until 2009.

David Warden, Chair of Dorset Humanists, said, “We feel privileged to be able to make a positive difference to the lives of young homeless people, and bereaved children and young people. Jane would have been proud to know we’ve continued her efforts to support worthy local charities”.

Mosaic is a Dorset-wide charity offering a pathway of support to bereaved children, young people and their families. It also works with young people who are facing the death of a loved one. It provides individual, family and group support. Every child has the opportunity to attend a residential weekend programme where they can meet others and share their experiences. The charity receives some Local Authority funding but all other money has to be raised from alternative sources including donations from local groups. A representative from Mosaic spoke about their work helping bereaved children and young people at our Saturday 9^th January meeting.

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. Jude Todd, Manager of New Forest Nightstop  has previously led a presentation for Dorset Humanists on the plight of homeless people and her charity’s valuable work to help them.

Chair of Dorset Humanists David Warden is pictured presenting cheques to Jude Todd, Manager of New Forest NightStop (top right), and to Margaret Hannibal of Mosaic (bottom right).

Dorset Humanists help the homeless and victims of domestic abuse

Dorset Humanists’ Winter Appeal 2013/2014 raised £1727 to be split equally between the charities Refuge and New Forest Nightstop. Refuge provides a range of support services for women and children escaping domestic violence, and New Forest Nightstop offers emergency overnight accommodation for homeless 16-24 year olds.

Our group’s latest charity appeal was dedicated to the memory of Jane Bannister (1941-2013), a former Chair of Dorset Humanists, who sadly lost her brief battle with cancer in August last year. Jane was a keen supporter of both Refuge and New Forest Nightstop.

Paula McGoveney from Refuge said “We are enormously grateful, as our services have seen a 30% cut to their funding over the last year, and every penny raised is vital to help us fill that shortfall”. Jude Todd, from New Forest Nightstop, who experienced two years of homelessness herself when she was sixteen, said, “Thank you so much for the wonderful amount raised which will help bring safety to vulnerable young people from local communities”. “Our aim is to save them from reaching the streets and becoming victims there”. Jackie Hartless from Community First New Forest, the charity which manages New Forest Nightstop, recently visited us and gave an inspiring and informative talk about Nightstop and their work helping the homeless.

David Warden, Chair of Dorset Humanists, said, “We feel very privileged to be able to make a positive difference to the lives of young homeless people, and women and children who’ve suffered from domestic abuse”. “Jane would have been proud to know we’ve continued her efforts to support these worthy charities”.

Dorset Humanists is a Bournemouth-based community group for atheists and agnostics who want to make the world a better place.

If you wish to donate to either of the charities mentioned, they can be contacted as follows:

New Forest Nightstop Tel: 01425 478391 Email: nightstop@cfnf.org.uk

Refuge Tel: 020 7395 7713 Email: fundraising@refuge.org.uk

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.

December Bulletin

There are only a few days left to achieve our Winter Appeal target. The two local charities we have selected this year were of special concern to former Chair of Dorset Humanists, Jane Bannister, who sadly died a few months ago. Please let's have a really good push to raise funds for the homeless, and for women and children seeking refuge from domestic violence. If you can’t get to our event on Saturday please contact me or our treasurer Dariusz Andersen to contribute.

We currently have a vacancy on the committee. Please consider joining our friendly team if you have skills and enthusiasm to contribute to the continuing success of Dorset Humanists.

For more news, and details of forthcoming events, please read the Dorset Humanists December Bulletin.

http://dorset.humanist.org.uk/DH-Bulletin-December-2013.pdf

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes,
David Warden
Chair, Dorset Humanists