Pop-up Norwich shop raises education charity cash

Norwich-based Christian educational development charity, Hope and Light UK, will be holding a pop-up charity shop at Witard Road Church Cafe on April 18 and 19.

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The UK branch of the charity is run by Norwich couple Dianne and Paul Cruickshank who have organised the pop-up charity shop where you might find a bargain or two in time for Christmas.

The shop will run for the two days only from 10.30am until 2pm at the Witard Road Church Cafe on the corner of Plumstead Road and Witard Road. You can also grab a coffee and a snack while you are there.

The couple have been working with Hope and Light since Christmas in 2004 when they went to visit a children’s feeding scheme in a shack village near Somerset West in  the Western Cape of South Africa. There had been an appeal in the local free newspaper, seeking donations so that the children could have some meat with Christmas party instead of the usual mealie meal and vegetables.

The next undertaking was the renovation of a disused nursery school. With help from volunteers from Germany, the building was painted, repaired and brought up to a standard that would be able to provide a kindergarten for the children of the village, where they could be kept clean if necessary, fed breakfast and lunch, and cared for in a safe environment, with Christian helpers. 

To fund this, a sponsor scheme was set up, and while Dianne set about finding sponsors in Norwich and elsewhere in the UK, Paul worked with HMRC to have Hope and Light (UK) registered as an official Charity. There was a great response from Norwich for fundraising events, and support from Witard Road Baptist Church, the Salvation Army at Mile Cross and from The Citadel Band and singers.

To read our previous article about the charity, click here. 

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the charity.

The Hope and Light website is www.hopeandlight.org.uk and the UK Registered Charity number is 1141782.  Dianne and Paul Cruickshank can be contacted by email at admin@hopeandlight.org.uk or phone 01603 412944.  

Pictured above is Hope and Light's school before and after renovation