By Margaret Carey
Holy Trinity Church has, for several years, organised a ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’ scheme. There’s a multitude of varieties of Advent calendars on sale, some of them involving a small gift inside the calendar each day, others with chocolate, but traditionally you just open a little door in an advent calendar to discover a quotation and a picture. This is different. We give, rather than receive, something.
Please find a big cardboard box and put something into it each day of Advent. This helps us all to think of the needs of other people, many of whom have little or no help at Christmas, or at any other time. Here is a suggested selection of items you can include: tinned meat, vegetables and fruit, tea and coffee, cereals, toiletries such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo and soap, but not bulky items such as loo rolls. The odd bar of chocolate or tube of smarties wouldn’t go amiss. Please check the expiry dates of everything you put into your box.
So, start your collection on the first day of Advent, which is 27th November, and put something in your box each day right up until Christmas. Then, please take it to Harvesters, Mossy Mile, on Saturday 7th or Saturday 14th January 2022 between 11am and 12 noon. The gifts will be sorted and then distributed to families early in the New Year.
We know, from the response in previous years, how generous the people of Hurstpierpoint are, and how very grateful the people who receive these gifts are. The charity Family Support Work (FSW) provides intensive help to children and families in Sussex along with a vitally needed food bank. Churches and other groups throughout Sussex provide funding, volunteers, and regular collections for the food bank, to support people with all sorts of needs. This is particularly important during the winter months and in the period after Christmas when many families have little money to spare. This year, with all household costs, fuel bills, and food prices rising very considerably, the need is greater than ever. If you need any other information, please email margaret@112a.co.uk.