Waitrose Customers Support Guildford Street Angels

Published on: 15 Mar, 2019
Updated on: 14 Mar, 2019

Customers from Waitrose in Guildford have given the thumbs up to the work of the Guildford Town Centre Chaplaincy.

Rachel Guilford, Street Angel co-ordinator, collecting its Community Matters cheque from Waitrose Guildford.

As part of Waitrose’s Community Matters green token scheme, its community champions presented Rachel Guilford, chaplaincy Street Angel co-ordinator, with a cheque for £518 to support their work.

Rachel thanked Waitrose for their gift adding: “We are very grateful for everything that Waitrose does to support the work of such a wide range of charities in the local area through their Community Matters Green Token Scheme.

“Our town is such a special place, but it also hides considerable problems after dark and behind closed doors. Ee are just one charity that works with others to contribute to making Guildford a safer and more caring place.

“The chaplaincy is thrilled and most grateful to receive this support, with this money going towards our Street Angel project. Many thanks to Waitrose and all those who gave us those green discs.”

The chaplaincy has been established for 10 years and is supported by churches, businesses and individuals from the Guildford area. It runs the award-winning Street Angel project which has helped 50,000 people in its first decade of operation, providing a calming, friendly presence on the town’s streets, between 11pm and 4am, every Friday and Saturday night, in turn, reducing the risk of aggression and crime.

Working with other organisations, the Street Angels have contributed to Guildford being the only town in Surrey to have been awarded a Purple Flag, a national accreditation scheme which recognises excellent management of town and city centres at night, and is backed by the government, the police and businesses.

Towns and cities that have been awarded the Purple Flag have shown that by encouraging a wide range of people into the centre at night, the rate of antisocial behaviour lowers.

The chaplaincy also operates its Community Angels project, working to befriend and reconnect the most isolated people across the town during the day, and their volunteer chaplains provide an independent listening ear within the workplaces of the town centre.

The Revd Noelle Coe, the town chaplain, said “It’s a challenging time for the vulnerable in our locality. The vibrant night-time economy of our town has seen a growth in homelessness, and we are very conscious of the increase risk of knife crime.

“Our volunteer angels seek to reassure, offer practical help and enable people to get home safely. We give flip flops for broken heals, foil blankets to protect against hypothermia, offer a listening ear, recharge mobile phones and signpost people to other services.

“We are seeking new funding to enable us to continue our work and would love to hear from anyone else who might be able to help us”.

Anyone wishing to donate to the 10th anniversary Be an Angel appeal to support the work of the chaplaincy can visit https://gtcc.org.uk