The Salvation Army UK and Ireland Territory

From a shop to a child's heart, donate a toy through The Salvation Army and help us bring joy this Christmas to children who may otherwise go without. Find out which of our local churches and centres are participating in our Christmas Present Appeal: https://lnkd.in/eR7tindk

How do our Lifehouse support workers make Christmas special for our residents? This time of year can be hard for many of our residents, who may have become homeless due to relationship breakdowns, trauma or addiction- or they may have spent previous Christmases sleeping on the streets. Beth from our Ty Gobaith Lifehouse in Wales explains how they go the extra mile to cheer up residents and create fun, festive activities for them to get involved with. Please help us to be a friend to people in need this Christmas: https://brnw.ch/21wOZbD

We celebrated 150 years of The Salvation Army in Wales at The Senedd last night. This reception was one of the highlights in a year of thanksgiving and reflection, marking the achievements and continuing work of The Salvation Army. #DymaGariad #TSAWales150

From our humble beginnings at The Gospel Hall in Cardiff on November 15, 1874, to today, The Salvation Army has been spreading love and making a difference across Wales for 150 incredible years. We will be celebrating at the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) tonight with politicians, faith leaders, and those whose lives have been touched by our mission. It will be a special moment to reflect on the past, and look ahead to the future of service and support. Dyma Gariad, Here is love and we continue to share that love every day by changing lives, lifting communities, and spreading kindness across Wales. #DymaGariad #TSAWales150

Prepping, wrapping, cooking - over the next month, our teams, volunteers and officers will be: Holding festive fun activities in our Lifehouses for our residents who may have spent previous Christmases on the streets or in night shelters. Welcoming lonely, vulnerable, and older people into our churches and centres for Christmas dinners. Wrapping presents for children to have a gift to open. Find out more about our work at Christmas here: https://brnw.ch/21wOCXr.

As we are in a national time of reflection this November, why not add a special dedication to a loved one on The Salvation Army’s Virtual wall of remembrance. Neil keeps his father’s memory alive and experienced personal fulfilment through his post. You also have the option to donate alongside your dedication which helps us to continue our vital work and honours their legacy of generosity. https://brnw.ch/21wOB2f

Buy an extra toy for a child in need this Christmas and The Entertainer will donate a toy too! Many Salvation Army churches and community centres across the country are collecting presents to distribute to the families they support and if you donate to this via The Entertainer, you can double what you’re gifting at no extra cost to yourself. (Big Toy Appeal ends on Saturday 30 November.) Give the gift of play this Christmas: https://tsa.link/TsaEnt24 🎁

A big congratulations to our Watford Salvation Army, who recently won the Congregation and Community category at the 2024 Church Times Green Church Awards! Our Watford church’s community allotment project run at local Cherry Tree Allotments, next to the primary school it shares a name with, is visited weekly by up to 120 pupils, parents and staff to help tend our allotment. The plot features raised beds and growing troughs, a log circle, a mini orchard, a summer house, and a wildflower meadow with a wildlife pond.  The allotment is intentionally managed for wildlife and environmental methods are also used to manage, reuse and recycle waste. An old bathtub has been transformed into a wildlife pond.   Captain Mark Scoulding, our local church leader, attended the ceremony along with Cheska Tyler, Cherry Tree Primary School headteacher, and Samuel, aged eight, one of the regular visitors to the allotment. Mark hopes the allotment will inspire a life-long love of nature in the children who visit it. He says: “All the pupils live in an urban environment with limited access to outdoor space.  We teach the children to garden fruits, vegetables and flowers… We hope to use the prize money to make the allotment more creative by installing other features including music and sensory areas.” “We invite the neighbourhood to harvest and eat the foods we have grown. Last year we cooked pumpkin soup and apple pies – some of our neighbours had never seen pumpkins growing and tasted them for the very first time.” Learn more about our Watford church’s ‘Top of the Crops’ allotment: https://brnw.ch/21wOo7B >

Our Strawberry Field Liverpool site are giving Beatles fans and supporters of The Salvation Army the opportunity to become part of the very fabric of the visitor centre by adding their image to the giant photomosaic on display in their exhibition. Fans are invited to purchase their place within the photomosaic, with funds raised keeping the Strawberry Field ‘gates open for good’ and supporting Steps at Strawberry Field, a series of programmes that support adults with barriers to employment into paid work or meaningful volunteering. We can’t think of a better Christmas present for supporters of The Salvation Army to buy for themselves or loved ones, a gift which celebrates the ongoing legacy of Strawberry Field whilst offering hope to a new generation who come with big dreams of life in the world of work. Early bird discount! Book early to secure your place and enjoy an Early Bird 10% discount. But hurry - purchase before Friday 8th November and enter the code MOSAIC10 at checkout to claim your discount! https://brnw.ch/21wOivJ

Children in the UK are going without every day, this budget was a missed opportunity to help vulnerable families. According to the Government’s own figures: 7.5 million families with children are trapped in poverty. While we recognise that the Government has had to, in their own words, make ‘difficult decisions’, this budget is a missed opportunity to ease huge financial pressures on struggling families. We do, however, welcome the introduction of Fair Rate Repayment, which will tackle levels of debt repayments for those in receipt of welfare support. This will be welcome news for people in debt navigating the social security system and will help people avoid a debt spiral – and is something we have been calling for. We are also pleased with the triple investment in English school breakfast clubs and the reduction of maximum Universal Credit debt payments from 25% of standard allowance to 15% of standard allowance, but we believe more can be done to help struggling families. While the changes will make a difference to low-income individuals and families, we are disappointed that the two-child benefit limit has not been scrapped as part of this budget. This will leave more children at risk of being forced into poverty. Every day, our officers, employees and volunteers serving on the frontline see families living hand to mouth and the #Budget2024 leaves them behind. We will stand beside them, no matter the economic climate, and continue to offer them practical assistance and campaign on their behalf for a fairer society for current and future generations. Join our campaign and write to your MP asking them to put families first: https://bit.ly/4bEOOAO Read more of our response to the budget: https://tsa.link/3UxEXa3