HB&O praise religious charity donation

June 17, 2011 - PRLog -- At least part of St Nicholas Church has stood in Radford Semele for over 1,000 years – but three years ago the listed building was devastated by fire.

Since then, the St Nicholas Church in Radford Semele Restoration Fund has been raising money to help rebuild the church.

Now a £1,000 donation from the Gursewak Trust – a charitable organisation made up of members of the Leamington and Warwick Sikh Congregation – has brought the church’s fundraising target into view.

Iain Goddard from chartered accountants Harrison Beale and Owen, which has offices in Coventry and Leamington, sits on the Gursewak Trust’s board of trustees and believes this is a good example of the great work the Trust does.

He said: “As a firm HB&O has handled the accounts for Leamington and Warwick’s Gurdwara since before it was even built in 2008.

“As a result I was invited to join the board of just five trustees when the Gursewak Trust was established last year, and it was a real honour to be asked.

“I am the only non-Sikh member of the board and it is really nice to be involved in the great work that they do in the Sikh community and beyond.

“The Trust raised the money through gift aid and decided the St Nicholas Church in Radford Semele Restoration Fund would be a brilliant cause to contribute to as not only is there the religious link  but this historic church is very important to a large number of people in the local community.

“Hopefully as time goes by the profile of the Trust will grow and then donations will grow too. This will give the Trust the ability to further help our community”

Reverend Martin Green is the vicar at the Radford Semele church and has been delighted by the support the appeal has received.

He said: “It has been fantastic to see the amount of people who have been prepared to contribute to our cause and restore the church.

“People often look to the differences between religious groups for ways to set them apart but this generous donation demonstrates that there are more similarities than differences and that those involved are always looking for ways to help the local community.

“Our fundraising target is almost ever-changing because of financial issues with regards to insurance and rates of VAT but this contribution puts us two-thirds of the way there and with a recent rise in awareness we are getting closer to the point where we can begin work on the restoration.”

For more information on the church’s appeal visit www.stnicholasrestoration.com.

END

Media enquiries:
Simon Gilbert
Advent Communications
2 Edison Building
Electric Wharf
Sandy Lane
Coventry CV1 4JA
Tel: 024 7663 3636
http://www.advent-communications.co.uk

# # #

Advent Communications is a well-established public relations consultancy based in Coventry.

In ten years it has built a reputation as a practical provider of news driven PR to a range of industry sectors.