Chapel Christmas Fair 25th Nov 2-5pm

Please mark your diaries for the Chapel Project Christmas Fair. Join us at The Chapel on Wharf Rd, Ash Vale, GU12 5AY on Saturday 25th Nov 2-5pm

It looks like a wonderfully festive day for the community. Why not visit the Ash Fantasia event in the village from 12, and then come over to us from 2pm for even more festive fun and Christmas bargains! Nearly New, cakes and biscuits, gifts and games, amazing raffle, children’s society stall, hotdogs for tea and a free Christmas craft for the kids. Please pop in and support your local Chapel Project. See you there!

Would you like to join in and volunteer, or donate a raffle prize? Please do get in touch! 07730 609446 Facebook: @AshValeChapel

Christmas Appeal – Ash Villages Food Parcels Project 2023

Christmas Appeal: The Ash Villages Food Parcels project will be packing and delivering food parcels for (we estimate) 40-50 families in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham in the week before Christmas, and we like to send gifts for the children and Christmassy treats along with the emergency essentials if we can. Can you help? Anything our wonderful community can donate will be amazing, and add some lovely Christmas cheer to the parcels. We will share out whatever is received from the community between the families on our list on the day.

Need some inspiration? How about donating Christmas puddings, custard, mince pies, treats, crackers, nibbles, stuffing mix, gravy granules, cranberry sauce, sweets, nice toiletries, warm socks, gloves, tangerines, chocolate coins, children’s toys, board games, juice, squash, hot chocolate, pretty napkins… what ever you would you be pleased to receive if you were in need yourself. (We can’t take alcohol sorry!)

Dropping off donations: All items need to reach us at St Mary’s church (GU12 5JE) or at The Chapel (GU12 5AY) by Thursday 14th December please. Contact us if you need to book a time 07730 609446 or you can pop in to donate whenever we are open.

If you prefer to donate cash to help us buy each family the ingredients for a roast dinner, our link is here: https://givealittle.co/c/3ijYS6zC4gbOGqwer2tmdY

Thank you for your support and have a wonderful Christmas!

Love and Light Party 31 Oct – text to book today!

It’s October! The annual Love and Light Party will be on 31st October as always. It’s on a Tuesday this year, after school at 4-6pm at The Chapel on Wharf Road GU12 5AY. If you would like to join us you are very welcome! Text or phone or WhatsApp to book your places please asap so we can be sure to cater! 07730 609446

What’s happening? Join us from 4pm onwards for snacks, crafts and games, Martin will start the disco at 4:30pm, and we will have sparklers at 5pm if the weather permits. Hotdogs and s’mores for tea, and a party bag to take home if you book in advance. Book today! 07730 609446.

What does it cost? We don’t exclude anyone based on their finances. We do ask for donations please – give what you can, to help cover the costs of the event. Some people can afford more than others, and every penny counts. Thank you! https://givealittle.co/campaigns/0e5ae7c4-ccad-4f64-806f-0bdda20b8876

Can we dress up? Yes of course! Nothing too scary please, as there will be little ones about. We have some UV lights for the disco so wear something neon if you want to glow up! You do you – come as you are or dress up as whatever you like.

Volunteers are always needed please for setting up / serving drinks and food / prepping party bags / helping out / welcoming / clearing down. Text or phone us if you can help, or speak to Alex when you see her. Thank you!

Book your tickets for the Party this Saturday 21st October!

Just a gentle reminder to please book your tickets ASAP for the Celebration of Youth Party on Saturday 21st October 2023. The team will be purchasing the food soon, so we will need to know numbers. Please contact the Parish Office ASAP if you would like a ticket. Email parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk of you can of course contact Karen P direct.

The raffle is looking very nice – we have had some lovely prizes donated by friends and neighbours, and Sally from the Co-Op community Pioneers has donated 2 bottles of wine Thank you Sally! Please bring some cash for the Raffle so we can raise lots of funds for the childrens society on the night.

The evening includes some wonderful dancing, a live Jazz band, food, fun and a disco. We can’t wait to welcome you! Doors open at 6:15 for a 6:30pm start. Food and soft drinks provided within the price of your ticket. (BYOB if you would like something stronger!)

You can pay for your tickets online here, or notify Karen and pay cash on the door:

https://givealittle.co/campaigns/53448765-c914-4858-b91b-3bbe011fb7c3

This link takes you to our dedicated “give a little” page for the event. If you can’t make it, why not chip in a donation to help top up the total? All proceeds after costs will be going to The Childrens Society. Thank you for your support!

Harvest Thanks to everyone at St Mary’s!

The local Food Parcels team would like to say a big Harvest Festival *THANK YOU* to everyone at St Mary’s church, and everyone who dropped off their wonderful food donations for the harvest collection there.  This amazing generosity is what helps the project to keep going and enables us to keep helping families in need.  These donations are a big blessing.  

Thanks to Revd Neil Lambert, these lovely tins and packets, toiletries and treats have now been packed, collected and transported, and are now safely on the shelves at the #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject and will go out in the food parcels in the next week or two. Thank you all so much for your support! It really matters, and every tin makes a difference. 

We wish you a blessed and happy Autumn!

#AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject 

Fun and fundraising for Macmillan 

Huge thanks to everyone who joined in with our ‘special edition’ of Friday Community Cafe this week at St Mary’s, a fundraising coffee morning for Macmillan. We had some amazing cakes, raffle prizes and donations, you are all amazing! ! 

We have raised £380 and counting! This is 5 times what we raised last year, a massive thank you to everyone. You can click on the link to see the latest total on our fundraising page. We have smashed our target, thank you all so much! This all makes a difference and helps Macmillan to keep on supporting those who need it. 

Congratulations to all the raffle winners and thank you to our lovely local Co-op for donating the top prize, the hamper of delicious co-op goodies! Guess the weight of the cake was tricky! The correct answer was 837g (1lb 14oz) well done Andy who guessed the nearest! 

We loved seeing you all for a cuppa and a catch-up, and the home made cakes were absolutely delicious! Remember we are here every Friday 10:00-13:00 for cuppa, chat and toasties at 12. Come again soon! 

https://coffeefundraising.macmillan.org.uk/fundraising/cm23005703

#MacmillanCoffeeMorning #StMarysAshVale #CommunityCafe #FridayCafe #CoOpAshVale #CoOpAsh #itswhatwedo #Community #Macmillan #ABigThankYou 

21st October Celebration of Youth

You are invited! 

The Children’s Society has been around for 142 years, and we would like you to come and join us to celebrate this wonderful charity by taking you through its journey through the decades, through drama, music and dance, on 21st October 2023.

There will be drinks on arrival at 6:30pm followed by performances at 6:45pm from some talented children and young people, including a Youth Jazz Trio. There will be a family disco, raffle and a disco later on in the evening for the adults as well. Food will be provided but please Bring your Own Bottle.

The Family Disco will be straight after the performances in the hall for those who need to take their younger children home earlier in the evening (please could parents stay with their children throughout the evening).

So dig out your dancing shoes, listen to the mellow sounds of the Golden Age Jazz Trio, boogie away in the disco, and hear about The Children’s Society as well. The proceeds of the evening will go to The Children’s Society, a charity which supports and campaigns for vulnerable children and young people across the United Kingdom.

Tickets (includes food) 

£12 Adult 

£5 Child (5-17)

Book your tickets today by contacting Karen via the parish office 

parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk


Food Parcels Harvest Appeal 2023

Harvest is coming up and as always the church celebrates and gives thanks for all our blessings! We also collect for those in need, bringing donations to our Harvest Festival Service on the 8th October. If you would like to join in you can join us at 10:30am on the day, or donate any time beforehand. 

Here is the list of the weekly items that our local Ash Villages Food Parcels team use for a standard food parcel, to give you an idea of what you might donate: 

The tins we get through 30+ a week of each: 

Tomatoes / Sweetcorn / Baked beans / Tuna

Meat (curry or hotdogs or ham or mince or corned beef etc)

Sweet (tinned fruit / rice pudding / custard etc)

Other staples we include every week are: 

Pasta (instant noodles are a great ‘low cost to cook’ option) 

Rice (microwave rice is low cost to heat)

Pasta sauce (again low cost to heat)

Tea / coffee / sugar 

UHT milk & Cereal

Treats occasionally to bring a smile e.g. Biscuits / Jam / crisps / sweets 

We also try to include fresh items to support healthier eating: 

Potatoes / Onions / Carrots / Apples / Eggs

Any of the above that you might like to donate would be much appreciated thank you. You could pick one item and donate a few of the same, or pick a couple of things from the list, or even pick one of each and donate the necessary for a whole weekly parcel. 

Alternatively you could choose to support us with toiletries and “Baby bank” items:

Shower gel / Shampoo / Sanitary items / Soap

Nappies / baby wipes / Baby formula / Baby food pouches

Laundry pods (we divide packs between families)

Supporting those with much loved Pets: We also like to be able to give out cat food and dog food if people are able to donate those, so that families can afford to keep much loved pets. 

Where to send things:

Donations for the Harvest Festival service collection can be dropped off at St Mary’s Church on Vale Rd, GU12 5JE whenever we are open. (E.G Sunday church services are 10:30am-12:00 / Toddlers on Tuesdays 10:00-11:30 / Cafe on Fridays 10:00-13:00) 

Throughout the year you can also take donations directly to the team at the Chapel on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY, where we pack the parcels. The team is there packing parcels on Wednesdays and Fridays 8:45-9:30am or contact us to make other arrangements if these times don’t work for you. You can also choose to leave items in the community shed in the Chapel car park. Please clearly label the bag “Donation for the food parcels”. 

Do you take donations of funds too? Yes please! 

If shopping is inconvenient we do also very gladly accept donations of funds. We can buy in bulk which keeps the cost down and makes your money go even further to feed more families.

You can donate by cash or cheque at St Mary’s church Ash Vale, which our Treasurer allocates to the restricted fund for food parcels – just write on the envelope or on the back of the cheque what the donation is for and he ensures it goes in the right account.

We can send you the details for a bank transfer or regular standing order if you prefer.  This just requires you to put “Food Parcels” as the reference so again we can assign the funds to the right project.

For immediate online donations we have a church account with the “Give a little” donations platform and the link for the Food Parcels project is here: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c  this platform allows you to sign up for monthly regular giving, or a one-off donation, whichever you would like to do.

Whatever you decide to do – thank you very much for your support!

If you’d like to know more please contact: 07730609446