Shoreham church supports West Sussex charity as Festival of Trees has major pruning

Shoreham’s annual Festival of Trees has had a major pruning this year, with just two on show compared to 30 last year, but the message from West Sussex charity Turning Tides remains one of hope.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The urgent Christmas is not Cancelled appeal was launched in place of the charity’s usual festive fundraising events, at a time when the charity is coping with increased need for its services as a result of Covid-19.

The Rev Ann Waizenenker and members of St Mary’s Church in Shoreham agreed to help promote the appeal by hosting a Turning Tides tree opposite their own.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The 13ft tree was donated by Asda Ferring and Adur District Council chairman Andy McGregor took time out to help with the decorations, including leaving his own heartwarming message for the homeless.

The 13ft tree was donated by Asda Ferring and heartwarming messages have been hung by Adur District Council chairman Andy McGregor and local schoolchildrenThe 13ft tree was donated by Asda Ferring and heartwarming messages have been hung by Adur District Council chairman Andy McGregor and local schoolchildren
The 13ft tree was donated by Asda Ferring and heartwarming messages have been hung by Adur District Council chairman Andy McGregor and local schoolchildren

Many more messages were added by local schoolchildren and these have since been placed on presents to be delivered to homeless people in the area.

Moira Gardner, community fundraiser at Turning Tides, said: “Christmas can really highlight the pain of what is missing from a person’s life – a secure place to live, family, food, safety, happiness. So, determined that Christmas will not be cancelled this year, we launched our appeal.

“Across the county, outreach workers will be searching the streets and countryside to find people who need support. People who are having to sleep rough will receive food, clothing and other essentials.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Those housed in Turning Tides’ hostels will experience a full Christmas dinner. Crucially, Turning Tides’ frontline keyworkers have been on hand with emotional and practical support, all through December and beyond.”

Last year’s Festival of Trees was attended by thousands of visitors and £4,100 was raised for the charity, the largest provider of support for homeless men and women in West Sussex.

Moira said: “Like so many other organisations, Covid has curtailed our fundraising events. We had many ideas about how we might run the event safely, while still embracing the community spirit here in Shoreham. In the end we had to scale the event right back to a simple and safe option, while still highlighting the plight of so many homeless people during the winter months.

“The Festival of Trees has not been forgotten and we very much hope it will return bigger and better next year. We hope the community can continue to support us by donating to our appeal. A single donation could help rebuild the life of one of your neighbours – bringing a better year to everyone in our community.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Visit www.turning-tides.org.uk/christmas for more informationand to make a donation, or telephone 01903 680740.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.