Update On Soulroots

Soulroots Trust (Churches for Youth in S17 and Dore Youth Worker Trust combined) has been working hard to build on the strong foundations Joel and Ben have left for us. The trustees are indebted to the work from the youth workers themselves but also that of previous trustees and the combined management committee.

News

• We asked our Church families to give regular Gift Aided donations and we have received enough to cover employing one full time youth worker.
• We plan to have an InspYre youth work student (from Ecclesall Methodist Circuit) working alongside our Soulroots youth worker.
• We have appointed our first youth worker, Andy Stuart, subject to the CRB check. We hope to introduce him to you at the beginning of September if not before. Eleanor Lomas has just been appointed as our youth work student.
• We are not giving up on having another part-time Soulroots employee and we will need to ask for your help and prayers for this.

• We now have six churches committed to managing and governing this trust providing members of the management committee and trustees. Totley Rise Methodists are now fully involved.
• We asked for volunteers to work with young people and we have volunteers who have worked in the previous trusts still helping us.
• We have a mentor who has volunteered for our youth worker.
• A car has been donated for our youth worker.
• Dore Open Gardens in June raised funds to help us.
• It is difficult to raise much money from grant-giving bodies in the present economic climate and so we have less money than was available when the first youth projects started in the area. We will not give up.

What needs to happen next?

Please tell us about any other offers of help you can give, whether small or large – it would be wonderful if someone could offer somewhere for a youth worker to live.

All who have delayed signing the Gift Aid pledge form, we need it now and remember that Dore Youth Worker Trust ceases at the end of August if you have a bank mandate currently. We thank those of you who have already returned the form to Tim Hardie.

Please welcome our new youth worker. He will be moving from London and he will require help to settle in and make all the contacts he needs to.

Tell us how we can be accountable to you and what you would like to see the youth worker doing in our Church communities. We are open to ideas!

If you want to become involved or support this venture in any other way, please talk to the representative from your church: