As we approach the Christmas season I am always inspired by the amount of time and effort put in by so many for the less fortunate in our community.
The Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter is opening up again in December until March. Each night of the week a different church will open its doors to give a hot dinner, a bed for the night and then breakfast. Those in need are given support and help and hopefully can move on to more permanent housing.
The Street Pastors go out on the streets of Ealing, Acton and Southall every Friday offering solace and support to those out and about. The staggering fact is that crime halves in the areas that the street pastors are out, according to the local Police.
Next weekend Sunday November 24 is the Nagar Kirtan religious procession organised by the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Havelock Road Southall celebrating the birth of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism. As we all know there is always a welcome at a Sikh temple with hot food.
The Ealing Foodbank is now open with branches across the borough, in Southall, Acton and elsewhere. They give three days emergency food to those in crisis.
The Disasters Emergency Committee , which is co-ordinating the charities aid for the Philippines disaster, has reported record amounts given by the British public, and that the help is indeed getting through. This is a part of the world, with which few in Britain have direct personal links or knowledge, and yet our common sense of humanity shows how much we care.
Recent research by the Cabinet Office has determined that almost 80% of us feel we “belong” to our neighbourhood. Over 70% have volunteered informally over the past year by helping neighbours and friends locally, whilst over 40% have volunteered in a more formal way. There are so many ways to volunteer. The Ealing Community & Voluntary Service is an umbrella body for local voluntary group s, and the Volunteering England website has some very beneficial advice.
This might sound like an advertisement for all the good work done by so many caring people across the borough, and in a way it is. However, unfortunately there are always those less fortunate than others, so its heart warming that so many people are willing give their time and money to help those in need. Volunteering is truly at the heart of our community.
