NEWS

'Make the cross count' support grows
 
Voter response has already been high for one particular election campaign, as the country gears up for polling day. Make The Cross Count – which uses a book and website to mobilise the electorate – has attracted massive interest.
 
Nearly all 40,000 copies of the print version have been snapped up – mostly by supporters of the leading Christian charity CARE. They produced the pack to encourage Christians to get involved in the political process, particularly by volunteering to help their local candidates.
 
The book tackles frequently asked questions like 'why should I vote?'; 'what does an MP do?'; and 'is there a "Christian" way to vote?' In addition, it offers practical advice on how to run an election forum – as a result, nearly 100 have been organised and are being promoted on the website www.makethecrosscount.com
 
There are ideas on how to continue with the political action even after polling day, and thought-provoking Bible studies on God's vision for the world. "We want to encourage Christians to make a difference in politics," said Paul Bickley, "and continue that, long after the election."

Toy retailer launches 10 charity wristbands

The Entertainer, Britain’s largest independent toy retailer – run by committed Christian Gary Grant – has teamed up with 10 charities to launch the UK’s largest charity wristband partnership with the simultaneous release of 10 new coloured wristbands.

Each of the different coloured wristbands has the charity’s slogan and URL on it and all retail at £2 with a guaranteed 75p going to each charity. Over 600,000 bands have been produced, meaning that the project looks set to raise around half a million pounds for the charities involved.

Charities taking part in the project include Anti Slavery (Red), Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Green), The Toybox charity (Navy), and Watford New Hope Trust (Orange). Since February, The Entertainer has been selling four charity wristbands and, as a result, has raised £50,000 for the charities involved.

This success has resulted in managing director Gary Grant commissioning this larger scale project to benefit a wider range of charities. www.theentertainer.com

Close the gap for children in care

Leading children's charity NCH is calling on all the political parties to pledge to close the gap in achievement between children in care and other children by 2020, as part of the drive to end child poverty.
 
Close the Gap for Children in Care, published by the charity in support of its call, details the many factors that lie behind the under-achievement of children in care. It explains that the gap isn't because children in care are more likely to have learning difficulties or mental health problems, compared to other children: if these are factored in, the research shows that children in care should be doing much better than they are now.
 
Clare Tickell, NCH's Chief Executive said: "Although some children in care do fantastically well and succeed against the odds, only one in 20 achieves five or more GCSEs compared with half the population of children as a whole, and the gap has actually widened by 2% over the last five years.
 
"Children in care are children of the State, and how well we serve them is a measure of how our society treats children more generally. At present, we are letting them down very badly and consigning many to social exclusion when they grow up. We won't end child poverty unless we tackle this problem once and for all."

More at www.nch.org.uk/closethegap

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