03 February 2012

VULNERABLE families are getting clothes parcels for children thanks to a scheme set up by a Buckinghamshire churchgoer.

As a health visitor and mother of three Jo Preston is only too aware of how families constantly need clothes for growing children. So she set up the Dorcas Trust which collects good quality second hand clothing and distributes it to families who are in need. It is run in conjunction with her church, Holy Trinty, Hazlemere.

“It started one Christmas when I realised some vulnerable families weren’t eligible for Christmas hampers . My parish church decided to put hampers together and from there we started doing clothing packs two years ago,” said Jo.

“We accept referrals from health visitors and midwives and put packs together for families with babies and children under eight and make sure they know they are a gift, not a hand out.”

The trust has also linked with an organisation that works with offenders’ families. Last year it gave out 170 packs of clothing. Last year it gave out 30 Mothering Sunday presents to single mums, and is planning to give out 50 this year.

“We give out Christmas presents for children up to 16. We put together packs of colouring and puzzle books for younger children. We also have the Dorcas Back to School project and provided nearly 60 new school uniforms for children from vulnerable families.

The project takes it’s name from Dorcas, (also known as Tabitha) a Biblical character from Acts 9 vs 36 to 42. She makes clothes for the poor in Joppa and when she dies, Peter hear’s about her and raises her from the dead.

“Because she was raised from the dead, everyone heard about Jesus. I thought that was an amazing story. We are not faith promoting but every pack we give out has ‘with love from the Dorcas Project’ on it. We give out them out in thick brown paper bags and they look really pretty.

The Dorcas project does not have a referral criteria because Jo is aware that not all vulnerable families will automatically tick all the right boxes. “Some times people will be referred to us from families with drug or alcohol abuse, mental health problems or financial concerns,” she says.

She is keen to point out that it’s not her project but God’s project. She runs the scheme with Lyn Cove, who is also an NHS worker, four trustees and a team of people who put the packs together.

Anyone interested in donating clothes to the project can email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .