Bohemia Village Voice

The Surviving Christmas project continues to do an excellent job providing needy people with good food and good cheer they otherwise would not have had at the festive season.

The 2006 appeal raised £30,000, of which 93% was spent directly on a three day “Open Christ-mas” held at the YMCA, where lonely and less fortunate people enjoyed Christmas in warm and friendly surroundings with good food and a clothing store, plus food vouchers for over 3,000 people in Hastings, St. Leonards and Bexhill, and 450 food hampers.

The value of the food vouchers (£5) has rem-ained static for a decade, and every year the number of requests for them increases. The Surviving Christmas 2007 project aims to raise enough funds to give an extra £5 food voucher to each home. Although this is only a small amount per household, the funds raised will have to be increased by 20% (£5,500) to make this possible.

Your donations of either money or goods will help the project reach its target and provide an enjoyable Christmas for the less fortunate. Cheques should be made payable to “Surviving Christmas” and sent to the address below. Also welcome are donations of non-perishable food, toiletries, toys and good quality second-hand and new clothing. 

The SC committee and helpers are all volunteers. New faces are very welcome. An introductory meeting for volunteers takes place at the YMCA on Wednesday 5th December at 7pm.

For more information about Surviving Christmas, which is a local charity entirely funded by the local community, contact Judith Wycherley, the chairman, on 424550. Or write to Surviving Christmas, PO Box 290, Hastings, Sussex TN34 9DT.