A READING charity celebrated the merging of its 20 Reading help hubs on Wednesday, June 29.
Torch’s commissioning service at Greyfriars Church brought together organisers, volunteers, service users and partners.
The network offers free practical help to those in need, primarily through churches.
Its provision ranges from delivering prescriptions to carrying out gardening tasks.
The Mayor of Earley Tahir Maher was in attendance.
He said of the event: “It was inspiring. I think the main thing is really that there are a lot of people out there who for one reason or another need help.
“Any help given by any charity and organisations that get together, especially this organisation, Torch, to get better synergy, is fantastic.
“As a community, that’s what we’re here to do. We must support each other, we cannot live in isolation.
“These kind of initiatives emphasise that and I am very grateful to be invited and any help I can give I’ll be more than happy to be involved in.”
Torch was established in response to the pandemic, delivering groceries to those unable to leave their homes.
The charity has delivered on an estimated 1,000 requests since its inception.
“We noticed changes in the patterns of requests we were receiving,” Torch’s chair and Trinity Earley pastor Jon Salmon said.
“There were definitely fewer people who needed food deliveries as friends and families started being able to visit each other.
“There was a suggestion that we could make a network through one hub, creating a place in the local service provision that does not duplicate what other organisations are doing.
“Where we are not able to help, we wanted to signpost cases to those who are able to give more specialised advice.”
The charity now boasts a team of 80 volunteers, headed by a leadership team, which was unveiled during the service.
In a significant step for Torch, the Diocese of Oxford recently committed to funding its first paid position.
During the evening, the audience was left captivated by Argyle Community Church pastor Jamie Carter’s performance of his own poem I See Torch in a powerful video.
“I see a town, set on fire with Torch flames, each flame a name, each name refreshed with the rain of God’s blessing,” read one of the lines.
Amy Perry, from St Agnes Church, was delighted to return to her old stomping ground Greyfriars for the service.
She was seeking help for those living in her building.
“It’d be great if some volunteers could come and meet with the residents who are trapped in their flats, and have been throughout lockdown,” she explained.
“If someone could come and push their wheelchairs around the garden, that’d be great.
“I thought it’d be easier to come down here and speak to people who could potentially help.
By the end of the service, Ms Perry had spoken to a Torch helper who had advised her on next steps.
For more information, visit: www.torchhub.org.uk
