A Christmas of Carolling Helps Local Charities

As January begins to slip away and the hours of daylight steadily increase our minds turn away from thoughts of Christmas. However, regular readers will be aware that in the winter months I spend my time out and about with the Our Lady's Carollers collecting money for local charities..

We had another good year which has been both rewarding and enjoyable for all concerned. We went to lots of events, including the opening of the Lincoln Christmas Market where we were part of the official opening, private parties, singing in the resturants of the city or even on the streets of the Bailgate area we had a very enjoyable season.

The Carollers raised around £2,500.00 for local charities this year and the following charities will recieve donations of between £100 - £300:

1. Special Families (Cherry Willingham)
2. Lincoln & Lindsey Blind Society
3. Catholic Deaf Service
4. Marriage Care
5. St. Barnabas Family Support Group

The majority of the monies raised in 2009 will be donated to Strut in the Community a charity which provided short breaks for children and young people with disabilities and special needs in Lincolnshire, who have had financial difficulties during the recession.

The Lincolnshire Echo reported earlier in the year that Strut in the Community, which supports around one hundred and fifty disabled county children each year, has seen a dramatic cut in donations coupled with higher overheads and now needs to find at least £10,000 to plug a funding gap; up to seven members of staff may still have to be made redundant in the coming months.

Organisation Manager, Ms Aimee Holland was quoted as saying:

"We have seen an £86,000 drop in donations from last financial year to this and despite making significant changes to the charity, moving into community based settings for care and opening a new showroom for furniture, we have not been able to bridge the gap this has created in the budget."