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ST THOMAS' EVE
Our annual St Thomas' Eve Charity Appeal is influenced by our historic traditions. St Thomas' Eve was once the day The Company distributed charity to Clothworkers in need. Today, all members of the Freedom and Livery are invited to support a fundraising appeal for a charitable organisation chosen by the Master. This year, we are supporting Spitalfields Crypt Trust (SCT), an East London charity that enables people to find life beyond homelessness and addiction.
ABOUT SPITALFIELDS CRYPT TRUST
For nearly 60 years, Spitalfields Crypt Trust (SCT) has been helping people transform their lives. The charity has changed, but homelessness and addiction continue to present profound challenges.
Homelessness and addiction are tough. People lose their families and friends. They lose their dignity, and miss out on education and work opportunities. Too many lose their lives – the average age of death for people experiencing homelessness and addiction is 47 for men and 43 for women.
It can feel impossible to escape from, but SCT is here to help people establish a lasting recovery from homelessness and addiction. We provide safe places to stay, an addiction treatment programme, and a training and development programme. We enable people to build strong foundations for the future, discover new skills and self-confidence and improve mental well-being. All are vital for a lasting recovery.
SCT's highly effective Housing First service provides long-term housing and wrap-around support, enabling extremely excluded adults to maintain a tenancy, many for the first time in their adult lives.
The charity is proud to be part of East London. It doesn't receive any direct government funding and relies on the generosity of donors to do its life-changing work.
ABOUT YOUR DONATION
The Clothworkers' Company will MATCH-FUND all member donations (doubling your donation and maximising your impact).
By donating to the St Thomas' Eve Charity Campaign, you can double the amount of your gift this holiday season, and together we can maximise the impact of your generosity.
Why give to SCT? With a 58% rise in the number of people seen sleeping on the streets in London over the last 10 years, we’re facing a homelessness crisis and more people than ever need support.
Donations of any amount are gratefully received. Here's some more information on how your gift could help:
- £10 could provide nutritious cooked meals for two of our residents
- £15 could help provide one hour of coaching that helps someone explore future employment opportunities
- £20 could contribute to the cost of one hour of addictions counselling
- £50 could pay for a two-hour training and development session that helps five people discover new skills and build self-confidence
- £250 could contribute to the cost of a support worker to help a resident secure move-on housing
- £500 could contribute to the cost of kitting out a Housing First flat, helping to create a stable home for someone who has experienced long-term homelessness.
Spitalfields Crypt Trust is a registered charity (1075947).