Charities Call for Carols for Syria

                                                                                                                                                  Tuesday November 3, 2015

CHURCHES and communities are being urged to host fundraising carol concerts to support charities working with those most in need amid the conflict in Syria.

Christian Aid and the Hands Up Foundation will use donations to meet the urgent needs of those most affected as they struggle to survive in a land ripped apart by war.

Working through partner organisations in Syria and neighbouring Lebanon and Iraq, support to date has included provision of emergency food, water and sanitation, along with education programmes, psychosocial support for women and children and support for medical teams in Syria. During the freezing winter months the support also includes blankets, warm clothing, food stove and fuel for cooking for families.

The initiative has been organised by artist, George Butler, trustee of the Hands Up Foundation, and Victoria Prentis, MP for North Oxfordshire and has been championed by Basil Eastwood, former Ambassador to Syria. The Hands Up Foundation was set up in April 2014 to by four individuals to remind friends in Syria that they had not been forgotten.

Organisers of Singing for Syrians concerts around the UK will be invited to a special carol concert in St Margaret’s Church on the grounds of Westminster Abbey on 15^th December. Tickets are available via Billetto with a suggested donation of £10. There will also be a private reception at Speaker’s House.

Victoria Prentis MP said: “Before I was elected, I found that carol concerts were a great way to raise money while having a good sing. It therefore seemed obvious to me that concerts would be a good way to raise money for the most desperate people who remain in Syria. I am particularly concerned about the elderly and those with poor health, who are too weak to contemplate leaving the country.”

A “How to” pack’ full of ideas on organising your own concert can be obtained from the Christian Aid website at http://bit.ly/1LDYB9Q along with further details of the agency’s work with victims of the conflict.

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