We use cookies to make your experience better. To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies. Learn more.
SPCK's work for International Day of Charity
Today is the International Day of Charity.
Charities have received a bad press in recent years: the safeguarding scandal at Oxfam, the collapse of Kids Company and the hassling of the poppy seller Olive Cooke are but three examples. Sadly, the UK’s 165,000 small charities are suffering because of the cynicism created by the actions of a few of the big players in the sector.
SPCK is not immune, having seen a dip in individual giving in our own latest set of accounts. Most of our income comes from our growing book sales, and indeed many people forget that we are a charity at all; but where we give things away for free, we rely on the generosity of donors in order to be able to do this.
Our Assemblies website is used by 50,000 people a month preparing assemblies for a large percentage of the UK’s populations. Teachers tell us that “I do appreciate the work that you are doing and an extra wonderful bonus is that it is a free resources”. Young people tell us that assemblies help them to celebrate their achievements (“In assembly people get to show their medals and certificates and badges), to be more confident (“When Miss asks us to come up to the front and say something it helps me to be more confident”) and to become better citizens (“Assembly helps me to learn to treat others as you would like to be treated”).
SPCK’s easy-to-read Our easy-to-read Diffusion books to help prisoners and other vulnerable people to improve their reading skills while thinking about life’s big questions. We always think that it’s the people who read our books who can best explain why they are so valuable. We receive dozens of comments from prisoners each year but we were particularly moved by this one from a prisoner at HMP Lewes:
“Not such a Bargain is the first book I’ve read fully in over a decade. I really got into it surprisingly seeing as I haven’t managed to read a full book since primary school. Next I would like to say thanks to you guys for providing this book to my prison… The book touched me in many different ways: [it] was very very similar to my life and events in my life. It made me think about my own actions more and realise they were wrong, almost bought a tear to my eyes a couple of times, I would love it if you have any more books like this one or even not like this one for me to read.”
We continue to launch innovative new charitable programmes including www.godsbigpicture.co.uk, an overview of the Bible from our subsidiary charity IVP, and why on earth . . . a new course for people exploring faith developed by SPCK in partnership with Church Army. We are also fundraising currently for a new website which will do for home groups what Assemblies does for assemblies! While fundraising is challenging, it is a really effective way of testing whether ideas are good and viable.
We are proud to be a part of the UK’s innovative charity sector, and are grateful for the generosity of all the people who help us out financially and in other ways. Please visit here to learn more about how you might join them.
