We give to several charities – overseas, in the UK and in Salisbury – to help transform the lives of those who need our help.
- The Episcopal University of South Sudan
- Alabare, the Salisbury-based charity for the homeless and struggling
- Salisbury Foodbank (food given by parishioners on the first Sunday of the month)
- Christian Aid
- The Children’s Society
- The Mayor’s chosen charity
We also choose different charities each year for special giving campaigns:
- Annual Lenten Appeal
- Christmas Tree Festival (two charities)
- Carols for Busy People
Finally, there are ad-hoc charity fund-raising campaigns supported by St Thomas’s that take place during the year.
During 2021 these charities benefited from the generosity of members and visitors to St Thomas’s: Encircles, Home Start, South Wiltshire Salisbury Hospice Charity, Salisbury Trust for the Homeless, Wessex Stoma Support, Wiltshire Community Foundation, Wiltshire & Swindon Welcome Fund.
Here is more information about the two main charities supported by St Thomas’s Parochial Church Council (PCC):
Education is the key to stability, peace and development in South Sudan. The Church has a long history of promoting peace and encouraging education. The Episcopal University was proposed in 2011 and achieved validation in 2019.
Its mission is to establish a Christian foundation with campuses across the country.
South Sudan is the world’s newest country, having gained independence from Sudan in 2011, six years after a comprehensive peace agreement brought Africa’s longest running civil war to an end. With a population of just under 12 million people, South Sudan has a long way to go to climb out of poverty. Although the number of primary school students has doubled between 2006 and 2010, still only 1 in 3 school aged children are in school.
The number of secondary schools is also increasing, although only 60% of schoolteachers are trained. This means that more and more young people are graduating from secondary school, but with few prospects for further education. In 2011, 30,000 young people who were eligible to enter university but had nowhere to go because of the lack of university places.
“Deepest gratitude and thanks to St Thomas’s for the spirit of love, support and care… this has made a great difference to us in our mission to establish learning institutions in a country devastated by many decades of civil conflict.”
Alabaré is a charity supporting vulnerable, homeless and marginalised people, whose vision is based on John’s Gospel – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. The charity helps people transform their lives, providing accommodation and helping them gain the skills, confidence and opportunities to live a fulfilled life.
Alabaré was founded in 1991 and opened its first home, Barnabas House, in Salisbury, the following year.
Alabaré now offers support to hundreds of people in need through its homes and services across South West England and Wales. They provide specialist support for young parents and their babies; people suffering from addictions; young people and those leaving the care system; those experiencing mental ill health; adults with learning difficulties, and Armed Forces Veterans who struggle to cope with life outside of the military.
They also run training courses and day activities at two Development Centres in Wiltshire. Beyond this they also provide learning difficulties clients with long term supported homes, a care service for those living in their own accommodation and a residential Christian Community.
Alabaré says:
We are so grateful to the PCC and congregation of St Thomas’s for their generous support of our work and look forward to finding new ways to work together in the future so that we can continue to be there for those most in need.