More churches than ever before are working with Church Urban Fund to develop or launch social action projects from cookery courses for people at risk of food poverty to running networks of winter night shelters, a new report has found.
The Together Network, made up of 18 joint ventures set up in partnership with CUF and Church of England dioceses, helped more than 500 churches with projects to serve the community in 2015, up more than 40% from 350 in 2014. The details of the work of the Together Network are contained in Changing Lives and Communities Together, assessing the impact of CUF over 2015. (Download the report by clicking on cover picture, right)
In the Diocese of Leeds, initiatives include Wellsprings Together Bradford which supports and encourages individuals, Christian organisations and churches of all denominations and traditions to understand and respond effectively to the issues of poverty and social justice for the wellbeing of local communities. Among its projects, Wellsprings Together Bradford hosts a developing a network of foodbanks, community pantries and hot food providers from across the Bradford District. It brings together staff and volunteers of these initiatives to offer support, information on funding and opportunities to network. The Food Poverty Network is open to all of those involved in providing food which is free to members of the public.
Wellsprings Together Bradford is part of a national network developed by Church Urban Fund to help create sustainable and more effective solutions to tackling poverty in England, and to give a voice on the local and national stage to their work and concerns about poverty.
The report also includes the work of Near Neighbours, the CUF-administered programme to build relationships of trust across different faith and ethnic groups which is now working in Bradford, Leeds and Dewsbury, as well as other parts of the country. The programme invested £1.1 million in grassroots activities last year, giving grants to 330 community projects.
More than 2,000 people a week benefited from projects funded by grants of up to £5,000 awarded by CUF to communities across England in 2015.
The report detailing the impact of CUF, along with a new look and website for the charity, marks its transition from primarily a grant giving organisation to a development agency helping to ensure that church based social action is effective and sustainable.
Canon Paul Hackwood, executive chair of CUF, said: “Recent research showed that 10 million adults in England rely on social action projects provided from churches – a staggering figure.
"Changing Lives and Communities Together shows that social action is part of the fabric of the Church of England, with CUF working with more churches than ever before through 18 partnerships with the Church of England dioceses.
“This report details moving and inspiring stories of people whose lives have been transformed through the work of the Together Network, the Near Neighbours programme and the Together grants.”
Visit the new Church Urban Fund website here