Micah 2020 Projects

The Micah Fund is a way for people at Ps & Gs to give to charities and projects outside our church and beyond our usual partner organisations.

Last year we raised £45,231. To see how the money was distributed between the charities, click here.

Here are the projects we supported in 2020, Due to Covid-19 and lock down, some of the charities made changes to their projects.

Ferrywell Youth Project
Just Love
Pregnancy Counselling and Care (Scotland)
Salvation Army: Women of Worth
Grassmarket Community Project
DEC (Disaster Emergency Committee) appeals

The Ferrywell Youth Project is changing the lives of young people in the Pilton, Muirhouse and Drylaw areas of Edinburgh. The vision is for 10 to 18 year olds to live lives characterised by positive, healthy and responsible choices. In an area experiencing high levels of drug and alcohol abuse and criminal behaviour, in normal times Ferrywell offers activities such as a weekly youth club, one-to-one support, outings and camps. A project leader and volunteers build positive relationships with the young people and, if faith becomes part of their lives, connect them to local churches. A group comes along to Ps & Gs on Sunday evenings.

The Micah Fund donation paid for Ferrywell to cover the running costs of their new premises. A stable base in North Edinburgh allows young people to drop by when they need a safe place and support from staff.

Ferrywell Youth Project

Just Love is a UK-wide organisation which currently runs 23 university-based Christian student groups. The groups encourage and facilitate local and national action, advocacy and prayer with the aim of bringing social justice to the communities they serve. After six years of growth, Just Love finds itself with a 350-strong alumni group. Recognising the potential of these young people to influence their new worlds of politics, charities, business and the church, Just Love wants to invest in building a formal alumni network.

The Micah Fund donation enabled development of the alumni network, including an annual conference for teaching and encouragement, ‘sphere’ groups for people working in similar organisations, and an increased number of events outside London.

Just Love

22% of children in Edinburgh live below the poverty line. PCCS is a small Edinburgh charity responding to profound and urgent need. It offers counselling for women who are struggling when pregnant or after giving birth, alongside a Material Aid service providing free basic equipment and clothes for babies and young children. In 2019, PCCS worked with 460 Edinburgh families to reduce the impact of poverty post-birth, reduce parental anxiety and poor mental health, and reduce the social isolation that new mothers can experience.

The Micah Fund donation allowed PCCS to expand its work by 50%, moving its Material Aid service to its charity shop in Leith, making more effective use of its spaces to increase capacity and helping fund staff costs.

Pregnancy Counselling and Care (Scotland)

Women of Worth (WOW) is a group run from the Salvation Army’s Niddry Street Wellbeing Centre in Edinburgh. Each week, in normal times,ten women meet in a female-only space to shower, access the clothing bank, and to discuss issues including harm reduction, domestic violence, sex work, homelessness, employment, family and education. WOW has already had a huge impact on the women’s lives. To continue to bond and support each other, the group wanted to plan some outside activities such as cinema trips, a meal out and craft activities. Due to financial hardship, lifestyles and societal norms, the women of WOW don’t get to experience such every day activities.

The Micah Fund donation paid for twelve months of activities, bringing value and a sense of ‘normality’ to each woman. The grant also paid for gym clothes and fitness taster sessions, helping to improve their physical and mental health.

Salvation Army

Founded by Greyfriars Kirk and Grassmarket Mission, GCP provides sanctuary and support to Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people dealing with poverty and social exclusion. It has around 500 registered users. Following a successful pilot in September 2019, GCP wanted to develop its Friday dry-bar project, Home Turf, into a regular monthly event. Research commissioned by GCP has shown that Friday evening can be a particularly vulnerable time for those experiencing isolation, addiction and deteriorating mental health. In normal times, Home Turf offers music, interactive games a café serving mocktails and hearty bowl-food in a supportive, community setting which in turn allows attendees to access other GCP services.

The Micah fund donation enabled GCP to commit to monthly Home Turf events, possibly increasing to fortnightly, by helping cover running costs such as logistics, staff time, promotion and kitchen services.

Grassmarket Community Project

We gave to World Vision, Tear Fund and British Red Cross through the DEC appeal to help with Covid-19 emergency work.

Watch to find out more about 2020’s Micah projects.