What we do
PUTTING ALL CHILDREN FIRST
We are a voluntary organisation supporting families of all faiths and none within the Diocese of Plymouth, which covers Devon, Cornwall and most parts of Dorset. We provide:
ESSENTIAL GRANTS
This programme aims to relieve the urgent material needs of children, young people and families by providing essential household items and clothing, such as cookers, washing machines, beds and school uniforms.
This support is offered, as many families can not afford to purchase these items themselves. This can be due to a number of reasons, such as unemployment, ill health, fleeing domestic abuse, or trying to set up a new home with nothing.
SUPPORTING CHILDREN WITH BEREAVEMENT & LOSS
Bereavement and loss affects all of us but it does not feature in the national curriculum and is often something difficult to deal with at home. We experience bereavement and loss through death of a loved one but can also experience in other ways especially for those children who have experienced local authority care or whose family have been through separation or divorce and of course children in service or military families. We offer a Rainbows Bereavement & Loss service, delivering whole school or parish Continuous Professional Development as well as training for individual facilitators to deliver Rainbows and Sunbeams peer support programmes with children and young people within their schools or parishes.
GOOD SHEPHERD
We encourage children to be good shepherds by helping children less fortunate than themselves. We believe that this is one of the most caring things they can do and encourages them to act within the principles of Catholic social teaching.
Over the last few years, we have asked our schools to support initiatives including ‘Sleep on the Floor for One Night’, ‘Caps for Cash’ and ‘Walk a Mile in Their Shoes.’
