Last week we were delighted to be invited to the Wandsworth Oasis Christmas celebration and grant awards ceremony at the Salvation Army Hall in Wandsworth. It was a bitterly cold evening but that hadn’t deterred people and we arrived to find an already packed hall - it was wonderful to see such a good turnout despite the dark, cold weather.
What followed was a wonderful evening of carols, readings, poetry and Christmas cheer! Major Bert Roper, MBE, of the Salvation Army gamely led the evening, cracking jokes and introducing each performer to the floor whilst creating a fantastic atmosphere for the evening. We all belted out some classic carols, helped along by the Salvation Army ‘Magnificent Seven’ band and really got into the Christmas spirit. From the performance by the soloist to the moving few minutes when people lit candles for loved ones lost, it was a wonderful evening.
It was great to catch up with the members of staff and volunteers from the Wandsworth Oasis, and see some new faces too. We were thrilled to be one of the lucky charities to accept a grant from Wandsworth Oasis, presented by the Mayor of Wandsworth himself, alongside other very worthy HIV charities such as The Food Chain, Positively UK and The Cara Trust to name a few. The generous donation we received will be put towards the cost of providing NAM’s HIV treatment information in the UK, work that Wandsworth Oasis supported last year too (some of you may have noticed their name in the cover of our information booklets) and we are so very grateful to them for their continued support. To find out more about Wandsworth Oasis and the work that they do you can visit their website.