SIX worldwide organisations are set to benefit from thousands of pounds raised by the Church of Scotland’s Guild.
Care for the Family – a Scottish charity helping new parents through the tough times after having a baby – is one of the organisations which will benefit from the much-needed funds.
All Friends Together, a project to make churches more welcoming for people with learning disabilities, and Street Pastors, who go out to help people in local communities, will also receive thousands of pounds.
Abroad, there is support for tackling Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya, an environmental project in Bolivia and a missionary project in Haiti.
Each of the six projects adopted by the Guild can expect to raise around £100,000 during the 2015-2018 fundraising cycle. As the Church’s voluntary organisation, the Guild has more than 22,600 members in 890 groups across Scotland, and enjoys a track record of success, raising more than £670,000 for the projects it adopted during 2012-2015.
The Guild’s National Convener, Kay Keith, says Care for the Family, Scotland – like the other five projects—is meeting a very real need. More than half of all new parents who divorce or separate do so within three years of having a child.
“It’s a very exhilarating time when you have a new baby, but it’s also a time of great change for the family and the beginning of a new life,” she said. “Some couples don’t make it and it seems a bit easier today for couples not to stick together.
Support
“We recognize that a huge part of that is about communication and understanding what is going on. Care for the Family Scotland helps new parents build strong family relationships and stick together through tough times. As an organization that is very much concerned with children and with encouraging and helping and the family unit, we wanted to support this work.”
“This is an opportunity, not to just give funding, but also to be part of it,” she added. “We will raise funds for all the projects, but we are a service organisation so our members will get very involved as volunteers with the three Scottish projects.”
Fiona Marks, Care for the Family’s Scottish representative, said The Guild’s support for “Let’s Stick Together” will help the charity work with thousands of new parents across Scotland.
“Together we literally have an opportunity to change the future for children and families. I’m very excited about the next three years.”
The projects were chosen to reflect the Guild’s theme for 2015-2018: Be Bold Be Strong. Projects are chosen by members and get the final seal of approval from the national committee.
