Charity aims to inspire the small acts that change lives

Twelve months ago, just at the time when some of the country’s biggest charities were reporting a worrying fall in donations, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, unveiled a little plan of his own.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dr Sentamu had found the inspiration for a brand new online charity in the Bible. More specifically in chapter four of the Book of Acts.

“Neither was there any among them that lacked,” says Acts 4.34.

“For as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of things that were sold.”

Swiftly followed by Acts 4.35: “and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”

So Acts 435 was born. Effectively it’s a website where applicants can post their requests for financial help.

Each is first verified by a local church and donors then have the chance to make direct payments to needy individuals.

A pilot scheme had already been running for some time in Yorkshire and the North East, but last July, Dr Sentamu decided to roll it out to the rest of the country.

Doing so at a time when many households were cutting back and when the economic forecast was bleak was optimistically ambitious.

However, a year on it seems his belief in the generosity of the Great British public has paid off.

“You may think that during an economic downturn that people would be less likely to give money to those suffering, but our experience has been the opposite,” says Dr Sentamu.

“Day by day we have seen new opportunities arising and more and more people willing to give help to others.

“Looking at the latest figures (up to May 2011), £22,000 has been given to 524 individuals.

“That might not sound like a large total compared to the amount some national charities raise, but we do know that in every one of those cases a small but significant donation can make a massive difference to these families in need.”

Acts 435 was never meant to be the kind of charity which hands over large, six-figure cheques to worthy, high-profile causes, but the stories of those it has helped are no less moving.

Dr Sentamu talks of the 34- year-old mum who was able to replace the broken beds her two children were forced to sleep in and another, from Scarborough, who was helped with transport cost to Leeds to be with her new- born twins in hospital in the city.

The good work has also successfully spread further than Yorkshire.

“In London a plumber couldn’t find employment because although he had passed all his training, he needed £30 to buy a construction skills health and safety card.

“The donation from Acts 435 means he now has a job. In all the cases we are talking about relatively small amounts of money that have managed to transform lives.

“The charity has been very successful at reaching out to those in need across Yorkshire – more than a third of our donors come from this great county, which is incredibly humbling,” says Dr Sentamu.

“However, we know that we need to do more to tackle poverty across the whole of the country and for that reason we are encouraging more and more churches to participate as advocates and identify need in their own local area.”

Certainly a quick glance at the website shows just how many families are struggling to make ends meet. Recent successful requests include an £80 donation to a 22-year-old in Hull for a pram for her newborn child and £100 to a 25-year-old in Filey, who couldn’t afford the train fare to Leeds for twice-weekly hospital appointments.

However, there are still a number of outstanding pleas for help, from a mother in Middlesbrough with a broken fridge freezer and a woman in York in need of £45 to pay for a bus pass to work.

“We are excited that we are entering into new partnerships, particularly that we are breaking new ground in the south of the country with schemes being set up in inner-city London and with the Holy Trinity Brompton, one of our country’s biggest churches,” says Dr Sentamu.

“I want to thank every single person who has donated in the last 12 months and every church which has set up an advocate scheme.

“That generosity and vision is helping to transform the lives of ordinary people who have been put into extraordinarily difficult situations.

“While need exists we should not give up trying to help.”

For more details of the charity, visit www.Acts435.org.uk.