Diocese gives £400,000 to charity

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN
THE DIOCESE of Westminster has donated more than £400,000 this year to projects helping the poorest citizens of London.
The amount raises the total sum of donations from the St John Southworth Fund since it was set up in 2007 to £1.6 million.
In the past year the diocese has given money to projects tackling knife crime, homelessness and support for disabled living through the fund.
The diocese has been allo cating its funds beyond Westminster diocese to individuals and organisations across all of London’s 33 boroughs.
Its latest annual report reveals that between 2010 and 2011 the fund donated £437,371 to the poorest and most deprived members of society.
The St John Southworth Fund is administered by the Diocese of Westminster’s pastoral affairs department. The director of pastoral affairs, Edmund Adamus, said: “The fund continues to help many in London suffering various levels of depri vation. We are deeply grateful to all who have donated to the fund, either individually or through parishes, to make this vital assistance possible. Supporting grassroots social action at the heart of communities has such potential for the mission of the Church, as these are the good works that serve the common good.” MrAdamus expressed his delight that despite the economic downturn the St John Southward Fund was able to award large grants to applicants, but he said the fund was still in need of support with a rising number of applicants and depleting capital.
He said: “It is imperative that we maintain a sustainable grant fund for the future. One of the ways to achieve this is to build the fund up through parish and private donations as well as legacies. Please help us to expand this vital work.” Charities which received grants over the past year include a summer holiday scheme service for children with parents living with HIV and education programmes against knife crime