Charities & Fundraising

200 Club
Annual membership of the club costs £12 per share per year and there is no limit to the number of shares each subscriber may hold.

In January each year, existing members are invited to renew their membership for another year but new members are welcome to join at any time during the year. In recent years, all profits from the 200 Club (around £1000 each year) have been donated to the parish project, a fund raising initiative. The project is a fund-raising initiative chosen annually by the parish pastoral council.

For an application form to join please click here

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The Friends of St James
Whereby parishioners donate a specific sum of money in return for which they receive a commemorative paperweight and are entitled to have the name of a loved one(s) inscribed in the Book of Remembrance.

The scheme still operates but the Book of Remembrance is now open to all parishioners who, once a year in August, are offered the chance to have a name(s) inscribed in the book. Each name inscribed costs £25. An annual Mass is offered at St James on either Easter Sunday or Christmas Day for the Friends.

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Gift Aid Scheme
Taxpayers who contribute regularly, either by bank standing order or in cash by planned-giving envelope, are invited to sign a gift-aid declaration whereby the parish can claim back from the Inland Revenue the tax paid on the amount given (currently 28 pence for every £1 given).

For more information contact the Parish Office:

Tel: 957 4171 or e-mail: parish@jameswilliam-reading.org.uk

For a Gift Aid form click here                                   

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Parish Project 07-08
Until next summer we, as a parish, are committed to raising prayer, awareness and funding for the two projects.

Catholic Children's Society 

The Reading office of the Catholic Children's Society has been established for over 28 years with Kate Burke as it's Project Manager. Their small team of 8 work in the local community with couples and in some cases single people supporting them through the complex route to adoption.

Many of the prospective parents supported by CCS have already lived through the sadness of being unable to conceive their own child, but now feel they have the fortitude to parent a child or sibling group from the care system. This takes very special parents as the children available for adoption these days usually have been damaged by neglect, abuse and rejection. CCS supply the training that will be invaluable in the years ahead and help match the parents with children who are most likely to make a family for life. Post adoption support is one of the most vital aspects of the work of this project.

“Every child matters – we cannot change their pasts, but we can, without a doubt, influence their future”

To visit their website click here

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Tsholofelo Community, Rustenburg, South Africa

THE TSHOLOFELO (Hope) Community, is in Phokeng(population 80,000) approximately 200km north-west of Johannesburg , South Africa . It was founded in 1980, by Sr. Georgina Boswell and Sr. Monica Daly [now retired] members of The Sisters of St. M. Magdalene Postel and Br. Joseph, De La Salle Congregation. The initial object was to provide a health centre and assist in the local education field.

Their work now extends to helping the poor people in illegal Squatter Camps. The squatters are mainly refugees and economic migrants of various tribal backgrounds, so have no rights in S. Africa. Nkaneng, a new camp 40km away from Phokeng, needs a clinic, a hospice, workshops and a school. Sister plans to purchase several ‘Shipping Containers' to convert into a clinic.

Two container fixed together, with windows & doors will provide an anti-retroviral treatment room. In this space Sr. Georgina can put up a drip, house a dispensary and a quiet recovery room.

This will cost £5000.00.

We aim to donate part of the money raised by this year's Parish Project towards erecting this simple clinic.

Parish Project 06-07
The final amount raised was £11043.89

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Information on this page:

200 Club

The Friends of St James

Gift Aid Scheme


Parish Fundraising Projects:

Catholic Children's Society

Tsholofelo Community