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Churches and faith groups in Jersey contribute £2.12million to island life and the local economy through social action activities in the community.
That’s according to a survey taken at the beginning of 2018 of Jersey groups who are motivated by their faith to get involved in community social action projects.
The Jersey Faith Action Audit, undertaken for local churches and faith groups by the UK-based Cinnamon Action Network, is a comprehensive report providing evidence for the social impact and the economic value of all that churches and other faith groups do in local communities.
In Jersey, the audit shows that every year over350 projects created by churches and faith-motivated groups and charities make contact with and support 66,000 individuals, from families, children, young people, and the elderly to socially excluded people.
The range of social action engagement flies in the face of the stereotypical image of churches engaging mostly with women and children through a few coffee mornings and parent and toddler groups. It demonstrates that faith-driven volunteers and paid staff are actively working with people of all ages and with men and women in almost equal measure on a whole range of projects and activities - childcare, youth work, family support, debt advice, training, coaching people back into work, counselling, providing meals, offering emergency food parcels, housing, health and fitness projects, and a plethora of weekly community activities which providea safe place to belong and build friendships.
“We’ve always been aware that churches and faith groups and individuals motivated by their faith do an enormous amount of work in our island, engaging with thousands of people every week in community projects which make their lives better,” said Jean Le Maistre, theJersey organizer of the Cinnamon Network Faith Action Audit.
“But what we didn’t know until we commissioned this survey is the extent to which churches and faith groups provide services which otherwise might have to be covered by the States of Jersey, Parish and other statutory and charitable bodies. Counting only the man and woman hours, we’re staggered to discover that volunteers and paid employees within churches and faith-motivated organisations contribute over £2million to island life every year. And that doesn’t include the financial help or assistance-in-kind provided to many people by some non-statutory, faith-based groups,” Mr Le Maistre said.
The Jersey Faith Action Audit reveals existing partnerships between faith groups and the States departments, police, health including GP services, parish and other statutory agencies, but it also highlights that more could be done in future to create a truly collaborative approach to caring for the people of Jersey.
“We believe this research will help the States and the wider Jersey community to understand what groups of committed and faith-driven individuals contribute to island life. And that’s very important, especially at a time when poverty, high food and housing costs, calls for a living wage and the need to improve the lot of our children and young people are on the agenda.But more importantly it will help the churches and faith charities and organisations themselves, to see what’s happening, highlight any duplication and identify how they can work closer together in the future not just with each other, but with other partners,” said Jean Le Maistre.
Writing in the foreword to the report, the Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey, endorses the work of the Cinnamon Network in bringing together representatives of churches and other faith groups to build on the ‘magnificent philosophy’ of giving, in time, resources and effort.
“Our Jersey community is highly effective and motivated to try and improve the quality of life for islanders and so I would urge you all to take up the challenge, to seek out the needs of those less fortunate and continue to forge new paths to deliver a better life for those around you.”His Excellency Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton GCB, writes.
The Jersey Faith Action Audit was undertaken online in February 2018, with churches and faith-inspired groups inputting information based on their activities in 2017. The survey had a 91.2% response rate, with information received from 62 faith groups delivering a total of 357 projects (an average of 7 projects per group) reaching66,000 people in 12 months. The survey reveals 112,000 total Volunteer Hours per year given by people motivated by their faith and doing a total of 1,900 volunteer roles. Churches and faith groups also reported 300 paid staff activities amounting to 105,000 paid staff hours across the year.
The total financial value of the work undertaken by volunteers and paid staff in faith motivated organisations, charities and groups in Jersey in 2017 was £2.12million.
The majority of those who contributed to the Jersey Faith Action Audit came from the local Christian denominations and communities.
The Jersey Faith Action Audit will be launched at a presentation at St Helier Town Hall on Monday July 2nd, at 1pm. The guest speaker will be Matt Bird, CEO and Founder of the Cinnamon Network.The Jersey Faith Action Audit is available as a PDF document and in hard copy.
