St Andrew's supports 36 charities through regular giving.  10% of its income is at present donated to charitable causes.   Some of the congregation are active members of charities and below is just a glimpse of some of the activities going on around us to enhance lives.

Charities being supported in March 2010 USPG - Anglicans in World Mission Julian Trust Mines Advisory Group

Royal British Legion The Backwell and Flax Bourton Branch meets on the second Monday of the month in the Red Cross Hall at 7.30pm. It is very active in the community in the care and support of ex-service personnel and their dependents. Fund raising for the RBL Poppy Appeal is a primary activity. The memory of those service personnel killed and injured in past conflicts is an important commitment. The War Memorial garden is maintained in pristine condition. The Branch is actively involved in the Remembrance Day service and organises a Two Minutes Silence at the War Memorial on 11th November.  Membership of the Branch is just under 100 with an average attendance of 40+ at the monthly meetings. Visitors and new members are most welcome. Graham Hackett

Medical and Educational Aid to Kenya (MEAK)     The aims of this charity are to provide for the poor of Kenya. Started by Mike and Dee Belliere from their own garage, this has now grown into an international charity with MEAK (USA) recently being formed. Each year there have been several medical trips to Kenya, starting with children’s heart surgery in 2001, taking a 20 strong team from Guy’s Hospital in London. This has expanded such that over 200 operations, interventional cardiac catheterisations  and other procedures have been performed and over 2000 outpatients have been seen and undergone echocardiography at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi  and the Aga Khan, Mombasa. All procedures are carried out free of charge, allowing access to medical therapy for poor children, without which there is no chance of life. This year we are also taking a team from Bristol Children’s Hospital. In addition, one of the many roles of the charity is to train the local staff, so we have been undertaking resuscitation courses, and training all the members of the local teams:- surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, anaesthetists and technicians.   MEAK also provides eye surgery teams, orthopaedic teams, support for local children’s homes and is now regarded as one of the leading charities for medical aid in East Africa.   Dr Robert Tulloh

5 Loaves and 2 Fishes St Andrew's has a link with the Sisters of the Church in St Paul's, Bristol, who run the 5 Loaves and 2 Fishers project for the homeless and needy families in that part of Bristol.  Members of St Andrew's regularly donate tins, dried foods and cash.  Also some members carry out voluntary work for the project. John Millman

Peace and Hope Trust The aim of the Peace and Hope trust is "Reaching those not served by others." Nicaragua is in Central America and was badly damaged by earthquakes, hurricanes and wars. The trust has been working in Nicaragua for 14 years. Sqdn Leader Michael Cole OBE resigned his commission in the RAF to work with the poor. Land was purchased at Bluefields and a much needed school was built.  Next a vocational centre was constructed on the same site with woodworking and sewing facilities.  After completing a sewing course the young people are given a sewing machine to take home. Many very poor people live near the rubbish tip in shacks made of bits of corrugated iron, wood, cardboard and bin bags.  Help is given by the Trust to made these shacks waterproof.  The children are sent to scavenge on the tip daily to help the family to exist.  Accidents are common - a small clinic has been built by the Trust. Donated goods of lightweight clothes, shoes, sewing machines, medical supplies and school equipment are sent out to help with the terrible conditions they live in. The Trust also works in La Barra, a small riverside community, building a Church, school, clinic and a rice mill to help them become more self-sufficient.  At Matagalpa in the mountainous region to the north of Nicaragua the Trust has purchased a coffee farm to provide employment - they are now selling quality coffee. Groups from this area visit the country twice a year.    My fourth visit earlier this year to Bluefields Nicaragua found the families who scavenge on the rubbish tip struggling to find things to sell in order to buy food to exist, this has been made more difficult owing to the downturn of the world economy. With the help of the people in Backwell I was able to buy beans and rice for the most needy families.I was able to pay for school uniforms, bookbags and new shoes for eighteen children before the start of the new school year in January. The greetings card making sessions continued to be very popular, I have now left all the equipment for them to work on their own, this will provide some much needed income for the young mums. Every lunchtime I helped with the feeding programme for the 2yrs-8yrs olds, the numbers have increased each year, there are now 125 who attend each day. With the money everybody helped me to raise I was able to help Jessica, Yadira and Fernando with their university fees and Osenia for her completion of nurse training in Bluefield Hospital. I bought wood and corrugated iron for Marianna, Diana, Nancy and their families and new shacks which the Nicaraguan men who walk for the Peace and Hope Trust were able to build for them.  Jamileth and her little toddler also had new stakes for her shack as it was collapsing. I would like to thank everybody for the help they have given me with donations, clothes, shoes, bedding, sewing machines, material and toys etc.  It has all been put to very good use. The people in Bluefields are always pleased to receive but never expect very much and are willing to share the little they have Jenifer Dyer

North Somerset MENCAP We are a local society affiliated to Royal Society MENCAP.  Our aim is to help and support people of all ages who have a learning disability, their parents and/or carers included. Those with special needs range from Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome to brain damage.  Unlike mental illness, mental handicap is usually life-long and not curable.  The people we support are mostly not able to speak for themselves, and are in consequence vulnerable.  We support them in many different ways - from advice on employment and benefits to help with enjoying leisure in a safe environment. Two playschemes for under eights and under sixteens were started by us some years ago and have been so successful they are now run by North Somerset Council.  We run a leisure scheme for under 25s in August called the Cool Summer Club - very popular. Two gateway clubs provide much enjoyment for people of all ages and meet each Wednesday evening in Clevedon.  Another club meets in Portishead on Saturday mornings. We also run an independent home in Clevedon providing residential accommodation in a secure environment in the local community. The Society was formed to make people more aware of these vulnerable members of our community, and over the years much has changed and improved.  We are so grateful for the support given us from St Andrew's Backwell. Geoff Hobbs

The Sudan Church Association Members of the congregation donate picture postcards which are sold in aid of work in Sudan.  All money raised goes directly to the Bishops in the various dioceses for them to redirect and use in the best way.  Sale of postcards have been averaging £1000 per month.  They are collected twice a year (April & October).  New supplies are always needed. Jean Routley