"Love and charity, are service, helping others, serving others. There are many people who spend their lives in this way, in the service of others. … When you forget yourself and think of others, this is love! And with the washing of the feet the Lord teaches us to be servants, and above all, servants as He was a servant to us, for every one of us." Pope Francis
Our parish outreach includes: London & Slough Charitable Trust, Slough Homeless - Our Concern, St Vincent de Paul, CAFOD, Fairtrade, Catholic Women's League, and APF Mill Hill Mission.
London & Slough Charitable Trust
is the new name for The London and Slough Run. To clear up any misunderstanding that we are NOT a running charity, we changed our name!
This year, as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we have just hosted a Dawn Walk to gather money so that we can continue providing much-needed assistance to the homeless and those in need.
We still hold our Monday night London Run, during which we distribute hot, freshly made vegetable soup, (made by St Joseph's School Kitchens) with goodie bags, and cups of tea that our ladies graciously make every Monday. While the number of visitors to London is still very high, many of them are short-term.
In Slough, our Dukes House operations are still expanding,collecting the food that we have gathered the previous evening from the supermarkets to then feed roughly 150 guests each day. We have roughly 85 packers, drivers, and warehouse personnel.
Since everyone works here as a volunteer, we still have no employees.
Our furniture side is expanding. We collect furniture locally and transport it to guests who have been assigned a room or flat by the council and who frequently need them to be furnished. Also our Macmillan Cancer patients who have lost their homes while undergoing treatment, we also provide the same assistance. The same goes for the folks who have been let out of prison
We provide food and help to all the homeless charities in the area.
The government organisation Homelink refers to us as the gravy on a Sunday Roast, keeping contact with all the local charities and their needs to assist the homeless and those in need.
In addition to providing food, we also want to help individuals who have been housed to start a fulfilling new life, thus we are searching for employment options for them.
We are always looking for volunteers to help the Teamakers and the Runners who travel to London on Mondays, whereas in Slough we need volunteers to join our daily rotas of sorters, packers and Drivers. The Trustees are grateful to the volunteers who help us to be a support for those in need. Thank you.
Anyone interested in joining our team please email admin@londonandsloughcharitabletrust.org
SHOC 
SHOC (Slough Homeless Our Concern) is a day centre that exists to provide care for the homeless in Slough and those at risk of becoming so. We offer both crisis care and long term transformational help towards independence. We began work in 1997 and have helped thousands of people since then. Our focused and dedicated work has been recognized by awards of Slough Mayor’s Charity of the Year 2011 and a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2012 and TVP Area Commander’s Commendation 2020.
We don’t just want to help people get by. We want them to start living. Our success is helping people rejoin the community and our team is skilled in helping people recover from homelessness. We forge relationships with our guests and offer opportunities for them to make a better life for themselves.
We have over 150 guests on our books and see about 40 people each day at our day centre in the Slough Quaker Meeting House.
SHOC is very grateful for the support that it has received from St Joseph’s Parish over the years. It continues to rely on the help of volunteers. Most of our individual volunteers give a few hours of their time each week or month and help us with the running of the daycentre. Teams from local churches and other organisations prepare and serve lunches at the day centre, usually once a month, and other volunteers help with fundraising events.
If any parishioners from St Joseph’s would like to discuss volunteering at SHOC, please contact Ray Waite on 01753 883164 or at raybwaite@aol.com.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY (SVP)
The St Vincent de Paul Society is an international lay Christianvoluntary organisation actively working in over 130 countries with the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised. The aim is to tackle poverty in all its forms through the provision of practical assistance to those in need by offering friendship and practical help without regard to faith, ethnicity, status or sexual orientation.
Here in St Joseph’s we provide support to a number of individuals and family groups suffering from loneliness, mobility issues and poverty. This takes the form of social visits to the elderly and housebound, practical support (such as food, clothing and furniture) and the provision of transport to Mass, other parish events, shopping, medical appointments, etc. If you, or someone you know, is in need, please get in contact with us, on a totally confidential basis, on 07942 270969.
To enable us to continue this work which provides such valuable assistance, please consider making a donation via this link. Alternatively, donations can be made directly to our bank account Name: E140395 St. Joseph Sort: 60-60-04. Account No: 46078843. Your support is very much appreciated.
We are always looking for new members to join us. You do not need any specific qualifications or experience - just a desire to provide a little support to fellow parishioners in a less fortunate position. The frequency and amount of the time you give is completely up to you.
You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That's how prayer works. Pope Francis
CAFOD
CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development and is the official aid agency for the Catholic Church in England and Wales, guided by the values of compassion, solidarity and hope. Together, with the help of our volunteers, we put our faith into action to help our sisters and brothers living in extreme poverty to reach their full potential, regardless of religion or culture.
We believe that everyone in the world has the right to live their lives with dignity. That’s why we work through the local Catholic Church and other partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East to fight poverty and injustice, wherever the need is greatest.
CAFOD is a member of Caritas International – a group of over 160 Catholic agencies from around the world – known as ‘the helping hand of the Church’. Because we work through the local partners we can reach people and places that others can’t.
How can you help?
On the Sunday prior to Lent and Harvest Family Fast Day talks, you can help hand out Fast Day envelopes at Mass. For those with public speaking skills, give a 5 minute talk at a Mass. Help is also welcome at the two Friday Fast Day Soup Lunches held at St Joseph’s when the Parish Centre is available.
You could further help by:
- Organising a petition signing, postcard action, or another campaign event after Masses.
- Working with other groups, such as the SVP to encourage others to act.
- Sharing the news about what campaigning is doing with others in your community.
- Write to your local MP about current campaign issues.
There's a way you can use the time you have to help us make a difference, whether it's a few free minutes in the day, days in the week, weeks in the year, or more! Many of the opportunities above can be tailored to fit into your schedule.
Whether you donate, campaign, download prayers or volunteer in the parish you are saving lives and helping some of the world’s poorest people.
For further information visit www.cafod.org.uk or email gnolan@cafod.org.uk
When you volunteer for CAFOD, you have the chance to enable our parish community to take action for global justice and put the Gospel into practice.
CATHOLIC WOMEN’S LEAGUE (CWL)
The Gerrards Cross Section of the Catholic Women's League was founded in 1958. The League is a national organisation with members in England and Wales. We are affiliated to other CWL Branches in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. We are also members or the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO), which is concerned with the rights of women and children throughout the world.
As CWL members were involved in the first Family Fast Day collections, we support CAFOD as its natural successor. The League has a strong spiritual base with retreats and days of recollection. We support our own CWL charities - Relief and Refugee, Our Ladies Catechists and the Services Committee.
We were involved in the beginning of the London Run for the Homeless through our connections with Burnham Section and we continue to raise funds for them each Christmas. We support local charities such as Thames Hospicecare and we lay a wreath on Chalfont St Peter's war memorial each Remembrance Sunday.
We welcome women of all ages as members. Our motto is Charity, Work and Loyalty. We work, but we also enjoy social events in a friendly atmosphere.
APF MILL HILL MISSION
Missio is the Pope’s official charity for Overseas Missions and is part of the Worldwide network of Pontifical Mission Societies. It comprises the Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF), The Society of St Peter the Apostle (SPA), Mission Together (Holy Childhood) and the Pontifical Missionary Union (PMU). Registered Charity No 1056651. The Mill Hill Missionaries (Society of St Joseph) founded by Cardinal Vaughan, was the first English Catholic religious missionary order. Today they are an international fellowship of Catholic missionaries dedicated to announcing the Good News of Jesus Christ to people throughout the world. The Mill Hill Missionaries are currently working in 19 Countries Worldwide. (Registered Charity No 220690).
Since 1937 the APF and the Mill Hill Missionaries have been raising money together in parishes through the Red Box Scheme.
Parish Contact : Peter Freeman on redbox.stjosephs@gmail.com or via the Parish Office.