Score AGM 16 May 2022

Report on SCORE meeting held on Monday 16 May 2022

 in the Parish Rooms

Peter Pelly the Chair of SCORE opened the meeting with a description of some of the charities which received grants during the past year. John Elliott, treasurer, gave a brief financial statement. Covid had an effect on funds and there was less money available to distribute.

Following this were three presentations from charities benefitting from SCORE funds in 2021/2022.

The Bridge Youth Project works in schools bringing the gospel to children who have no experience of church or religion. Their work is expanding into other areas in Wiltshire and one of its new projects is development of chaplaincy work in primary schools.

As Salisbury Catholic Churches plans to reinstate a post for a youth worker, an opportunity arises to work more closely with The Bridge Project and benefit from their support and experience.

Salisbury Street Pastors were represented by Keith who is also trains pastors. His description of the work carried out by the Street pastors was totally engrossing. It gave a real picture of the people encountered and how they relate to the pastors. Sitting and listening are the greatest skills, delivered with compassion in a nonjudgmental way. Keith indicated that with all the challenges it is still most rewarding work.

Salisbury Pantry is based in a shop in Catherine Street and is open every Tuesday. Sarah explained how the franchise worked - it has 445 members who pay £5 and can select food to a far greater value. Much of the produce is supplied by supermarkets and other providers, and it makes a huge difference to people struggling to feed their families. The SCORE grant was used to top up provisions for a 6 month period. The Pantry has 16 volunteers including drivers who collect the food. Beyond that it offers a café which is in the Baptist Church and many friendships are formed this way. Many schools take the opportunity to place students in The Pantry as part of work experience schemes. Sarah is passionate about this aspect of her work and also described other aspects of her work as Salisbury Council Community Development Officer.

Refreshments followed and the meeting closed at 8.30pm.