Many vulnerable people are set to miss out on vital free meals this year unless St Augustine’s Church can raise around £12,000 to fix its heating system, says a pleading volunteer.
Ghislaine Kennedy of St Augustine’s Church, in Dumbarton High Street, is running a coffee morning on Saturday, September 24, to try and raise money to put towards a new boiler and heating system for the church.
Two free lunches are run in St Augustine’s Church per week on Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as an annual Christmas dinner on Christmas day for those struggling or lonely.
However, Ghislaine is worried about how long the church will be able to continue to provide for the number of people who use its services in their time of need.
She said: “We have no heating at all in St Augustine’s Church. The whole heating system has broken down. We have no working boiler.
“We will be running a coffee morning to try and raise money to fix it. If we do not get the heating fixed, then the Christmas dinner we make for people who are on their own, will be limited on the number of people we will be able to feed.
“We can usually feed between 70 and 80 people, but we won’t be able to do those numbers if we don’t get it fixed.
“It could cost up to £12,000. The congregation has been trying to raise money for some time, but it is a lot of money to raise.
“People are so reliant on the church, especially at Christmas and through the year with the cost of living we are in. This winter is going to be worse for people than previously because the prices people will face to heat their homes will make more people reliant on services like us.
“We are going to need to keep the hall open for people to get heat because they cannot afford to heat their homes.
“If we are not able to fund it, then a load of people will lose out.”
The coffee morning will last between 10am and 1.30pm by All Sorts Choir and there will be sandwiches, coffee, and live music.
International jazz and swing singer, James Flynn, has been helping at St Augustine’s Church and will also help out at the coffee morning.
He said: “I help out with a soup kitchen in Denmark, Western Australia, and I read an article about Ghislaine and what they were doing, and as I was here for six months so I wanted to help out.
“My partner and I have gotten to know this beautiful community and Ghislaine herself. With the tough time she has had this year, it’s really quite special how selfless she is.”
