Supporters gifting their time, working for justice

 Please give three cheers for our fantastic volunteers. Last year, the funds raised by The Changing Room, our charity shop in Garvagh near Coleraine passed the £100,000 mark. Rachel McCormick (3rd) founded the shop in 2016 and runs it without payment, helped by a 15-strong team of volunteers.

 In September, we marked the golden jubilee of a man with a heart of gold. Billy McAlpine has been Christian Aid’s representative at St Donard’s Parish Church in east Belfast for more than 50 years. He is pictured with our Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett.

 In December, our ‘brrr-illiant’ supporters in Newtownards, County Down braved unusually cold weather to hold a 3-day sit-out in the town square which raised almost £2,900 for our work. In February, they held a table quiz which yielded £650 for our Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal. Our thanks go to John Doherty (3rd from right) and all the Ards committee members.

 The seas are rising but so are we. Christian Aid climate activists at a COP27 rally in Belfast in November added their voices to the chorus worldwide demanding that a Loss and Damage fund be created. You can read about the success of this campaign on page 11.

 In October, Jonathan Winter from Dundonald near Belfast ‘took the money and ran’ by completing the London marathon in 3 hours, 49 minutes and collecting sponsorship of almost £2,400 for our work.

 Forget the Cookstown sizzle - have you heard of the Cookstown simmer? In March, volunteers drawn from eight churches in the County Tyrone town held a soup lunch which raised almost £800 for our work. Our thanks go to Iris Black (right) and everyone who took part.

 In September, our supporters in west Cork raised more than €10,500 when around 200 people took part in the 14th annual Sheep’s Head Hike. If ‘ewe’ would like to take part, this year’s event is on 2 September.

County Tipperary who hold regular coffee mornings and bake sales to raise funds for our work.