SMILE Lone Parent Fair 2024
Good old-fashioned fun was the order of the day at the SMILE Lone Parent Fair 2024. Exactly 200 parents and children spent the afternoon away from the challenges of parenting alone to relax and be pampered! A big shout out to everyone who made it possible to put on this free annual event including: St James’ Church Poole, Poole
Blue Soul Customs Donate Trainers to the SMILE project
There were smiles all round when Bournemouth tattoo shoe company, Blue Soul Customs, donated brand new trainers to children and teenagers at the SMILE Community Meal. Business owner Harrison Alcock explained: "Years ago, I made a promise to give back to the community that shares my values if I succeeded in my business goals. Coming from a single-parent
It’s Our 20th Birthday!
Happy Birthday to us! So, how will we celebrate? In 20 fun and inspiring ways throughout 2024! All of which highlight our Values, these are: Welcoming, Alongside, Trusted, Practical and Empowering. Kicking things off and starting with our Welcoming value, Alistair, our CEO, has been delivering gorgeous birthday cakes to our amazing projects and volunteers. Alistair enthused: “I love the
Faithworks 20th anniversary
It’s Faithworks 20th anniversary! And we are honoured to invite you to join us in a year of celebration, reflection and forward thinking. How did Faithworks begin? Over 20 years ago a small and dedicated group of church leaders, along with Poole Borough Council, looked at root causes of key local issues and identified loneliness & isolation as large
SMILE Supports Single Parent Families to Enjoy Outdoor Spaces
For single parent families there are so many great benefits to gain from spending time outdoors - being active in the fresh air can improve sleep, blood pressure, cognitive function and physical well being, as well as reducing risks to your health.* It's also a fun and cost-effective way to spend time with the people who are important in
Faithworks Project Christmas Hours 2023
Please note that our project Christmas hours 2023 are: Christchurch Food Bank+ Closed Monday 25 & Tuesday 26 December, and Monday 1 January 2024 Nourish Community Larder & Food Bank Closed Tuesday 26 December Thursday 28 December – open 10am – 12pm only Poole Food Bank+ Closed Tuesday 26 December Wednesday 27 – Friday 29 December open 9.30am –
SMILE Christmas Campaign
Our SMILE project supports over 100 single parent families in the local area - our Christmas campaign is on a mission to distribute high-quality gifts to each child and parent. Racheal Peck, SMILE Lone Parent Families Project Lead explained: “We take time to choose a specific gift that each child will treasure. Our campaign is not about young
10 Years as Faithworks CEO: Ice buckets, the Unexpected & Simple Grace
“I have never written a budget before in between a comics emporium and a New Age shop.” – Alistair Doxat-Purser, CEO In my first week of working for Faithworks as the new CEO in June 2013, we sat in a cramped and slightly mouldy couple of rooms for a team meeting, discussing the fact that the building
Volunteers’ Week: 1 – 7 June 2023
“You are the lifeblood of all that we do” – Alistair Doxat-Purser, CEO 285 volunteers enable us to run 5 Food Banks, our CMA debt advice and budget service, SMILE lone parent families project and support for those moving on from homelessness, addiction and prison via our Arch programme. Many of you who give your time have
Easter Holidays Free or Low Cost Activities
As spring is fighting its way through the wintry weather, the Easter holidays are rapidly appearing on the horizon. We have therefore put together another list of free or very low cost activities which will help you to enjoy the Easter Holidays without the stress of adding too much to the budget. Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) The