PCC HOLY TRINITY WITH ST LAURENCE CHURCH ALSO KNOWN AS MORECAMBE PARISH CHURCH
Our organisation is an Anglican church community (part of the Church of England) in the original part of Morecambe, known as Poulton-le-sands. We are here to worship God, live faithfully, engage with and serve our community, share the Gospel, and reach out in mission to those in need. Poulton-le-Sands is an extremely deprived area of Morecambe with many social challenges. As a Church community, we have embarked on what God calls us to do in our parish. We have focused on helping those who are struggling with food insecurity, financial concerns, and social, mental health, or physical issues.
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We opened The Lighthouse Club in September 2022 as childcare provision is a concern for our local community, especially for those parents at our CofE school, Poulton-le-Sands CofE Primary School. We initially provided Ofsted-approved childcare before and after school for PLS primary school but have now expanded into Morecambe Bay Community Primary School and provided holiday childcare for all children in the local area.
Poulton-le-Sands is an area of high deprivation, especially regarding children within the parish. 24% of children live in an income-deprived household, 36% are in lone-parent households, and 36% of children at PLS and 59% at MBCPS receive income-based free school meals. Our provision gives working parents a safe place to leave their children. It encourages others to find work, knowing they have a reliable facility to care for their children.
We opened a community outreach hub in April 2023 to help provide a warm space for the community, low-cost meals and refreshments, and a space for other organisations to reach out to the community. We have created links with the Citizens Advice Bureau and Christians Against Poverty. We also use the space to run a busy food pantry serving over 300 families in the Lancaster district, providing them with good, nutritious food for a small membership fee. We hope in the future to be able to offer training and re-skilling opportunities as well as cooking classes to teach families to make a small budget to go further without compromising its nutritional content.
Our community outreach hub significantly impacts the lives of those who access it. Our project provides a place for people to connect, access support, and learn new skills. It also provides practical support to those struggling with costs, such as free hot meals, heating bills and laundry. By investing in our project, you will be helping to combat social isolation and poverty in our community.
Our area of Morecambe is among the top 3% of most income-deprived parishes in England, with 19% of working-age adults experiencing income deprivation and 27% having no academic, vocational, or professional qualifications.
Over the last year, we have seen over 8,000 customers in our facility.