We are all settled into our lovely new office, and it has given us a wonderfully spacious, airy and bright work space.
OUTREACH
We are so thankful that the doors of the parlours continue to be opened to us, allowing us to bulid conversations and friendships with the wonderful ladies we serve.
What a privilege it is to be trusted by these women that so often find trust very difficult; being able to pray with them and offer physical, practical and spiritual support is always such an honour.
We have recently had 8 new referrals in one month from partner agencies which is sadly representative of the need that exists.
Our awesome case workers have been so busy offering support with court hearings, hospital visits, school appointments, translation, housing process, job applications and much more.
VOLUNTEERS
We hugely value each and every volunteer that offer their time, expertise and passion supporting this wonderful work.
As a team we are very much looking forward to running a 'Thank you Cream Tea' in September to show our appreciation to every single volunteer.
There are a variety of roles available, for example: Bakers/ Admin Support/ Gift bag packers/ Drivers etc
Church
Over the last few months we have very much enjoyed visiting a variety of churches to present about the work of Beloved. We are always so warmly welcomed and feel encouraged and supported by so many.
If your church would be open to having us come along to share our Beloved journey, please do get in touch with Melissa. It would be an absolute honour to share our story.
Home Groups
A few homegroups recently have arranged get togethers where they all bring along a variety of donated items to pack into gift bags to be given to the women on outreach. For example: Face packs, perfumes, chocolates, hand creams etc, They also handmake written messages and scriptures attached to the bags to encourage the ladies. We then add Christian leaflets and safety information, along with home made cupcakes (made by volunteers also).
These go down a real treat with the ladies, and help them to feel special, noticed and loved.
If you would like to gather some people to donate and pack up these type of bags, please contact Melissa.
Wellness
Some of our wonderful volunteers recently blessed us with running some wellbeing workshops. A four week dance workshop. We know sometimes it's hard to express ourselves in words. This workshop served to help women access some of the deeper emotions through movement and dance. Dance speaks of freedom. Again relationships were built during these sessions and precious memories made.
We also had a wonderful craft workshop brought to us from a volunteer family, where the ladies were taught how to make cards and bracelets and painting, while eating yummy home made cakes. There was such a warm atmosphere and natural and open conversations were had.
CONGRATULATIONS - A lady successfully graduated from the 'Lovewell' programme designed to support women into employment. She came away with 'Trainee of the Year' Award'. We are so proud of her.
She says: "Beloved has helped me a lot, my mental healths improved, I've gained friendships and Beloved introduced me to Lovewell which was brilliant."
FUNDRAISER - Saturday 20th July 2024
We are so very excited about our Summer Fundraiser.
It is set to be a truly wonderful evening. A three course meal, live band, Live Auction, Silent Auction, dancing and Professional Photographers etc etc
Only a handful of tickets left, however if you 'Can't Make It, Donate It'.
VISION FOR THE VULNERABLE
Please do invite all your friends, family, church family etc to join us for the 'Vision for the Vulnerable' prayer meeting.
Prayer Needs:
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Options for housing & employment for women seeking to exit.
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Counselling, therapy and emotional inner healing for women facing their past trauma.
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Preventative work to reach women who are considering returning/entering sex work because of economic hardship.
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Courage and strength for the women to continue on journeys towards the fullness of life Jesus offers.
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Team protection, resilience and joy in the work
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Women wanting to do courses e.g. Floristry/ Food Hygiene etc to help gain skills, qualifications & confidence
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Our new pilot project reaching out to students and the appointment of a Project Lead.
Please continue to pray for our dear women doing the unimaginable to survive and for our Beloved team as they do so well to support them. Grace and strength for us all!
THANK YOU
We are hugely grateful to those of you who do give so generously to our work. Every prayer, donation and hour spent, makes a real, tangible difference to our work and outreach and we can't thank you enough for all the support we have received over the years.
GIVE TO BELOVED
If you would like to give financially to BELOVED you can donate monthly or make a one off donation.
We have recently launched our 'Coffee Club' idea. The average cup of coffee in Bristol costs £3.00.We are wondering if you would please consider sacrificing the equivelant to one coffee per week, in order to support Beloved?
If this is something you woukld like to do, please use the link belove to set up a standing order. This would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
We're so grateful for your ongoing support, thank you!
The BELOVED team
Beloved Financial Giving
- £5/month would help us cover the cost of a gift bag for a woman in a parlour, providing safety information and wellbeing items.
£10/month would cover a wellbeing visit with a woman to help reduce isolation and build community
£15/month would help us source bibles, especially in other languages for women
£20/month would cover the travel costs for a woman to attend appointments and access support
£40/month would enable us to fund a business grant for a woman leaving prostitution who wants to start her own business and support herself
£50 would enable a woman to access a counselling session
£60 Hardship fund - To fill the gap helping with basic living costs like bills, groceries for a woman seeking to leave prostitution
£100 would fund the total cost of a team undertaking outreach visits for an afternoon/evening, including gift bags, staff time and mileage expenses
£120 would fund a case worker for a day to meet women offering help with benefits, job applications, and health appointments etc.