Support us

THE TORCH TRUST FOR THE BLIND is a faith mission and a registered charity and operates only because of the prayer and financial support of Christian people, churches and organisations.

DISABILITY SUNDAY

5th October 2008 is the Sunday to highlight the needs of blind and partially sighted people and other disabled people and ensure they are fully included in church life .  However this could be done any Sunday! Click here for ideas and materials for a Disability Sunday service.

Torch and Churches

Torch is a non-denominational Christian organisation that works with all Christian churches. To find our more about the way Torch can help churches become more welcoming to blind and partially sighted people click here.

To find out about being a Torch Church Rep click here

Prayer

Prayer is the foundation of our support. We need your prayers more than anything else: prayer for guidance, prayer for our people, prayer for our outreach, prayer for our international activities, prayer for our financial needs.

To pray for the work effectively you will need to be informed. Contact us to put your name on our mailing list for Torch Family News. We will also send you a quarterly Prayer Calendar. Our pictorial Daily Prayer Guide, updated at least every two years supports your prayers for staff on a monthly rota.

Every two weeks our prayer phone is updated. Call 01858 438277 anytime to be put through to the prayer phone for the latest prayer pointers.

Our home page is updated daily from the Prayer Calendar. Make it your browser home page to stay in touch with prayer topics and news.

Volunteering

Torch work relies heavily on the contribution made by volunteers. We have many rewarding opportunities for Christian service working on your own or with others. There are tasks you can undertake at home, things you can do in your locality (especially with a local Torch Fellowship Group), opportunities for service at Torch Holiday & Retreat Centre, and work that can be done by coming into Torch House.

See Vital Volunteers article

For more infomation about what you can do as a volunteer to support the work of the Torch Trust click here.

Work for Torch

To find out about staff vacancies with Torch Trust click here.

How Torch’s Finance Works

God is our provider. Torch has grown as a faith mission – trusting God to provide as in prayer we seek from Him all that we need to serve him. We communicate our financial needs but do not ask for money.

Torch relies on the vocational commitment of people who feel God has led them to work with us. Much of Torch work is done by volunteers. For the core of the permanent staff, Torch makes a contribution to their living needs by paying national minimum wage (as required by law) for the hours worked. Staff trust God to provide for their other personal living needs.

Torch’s income comes principally from donations made by individuals, groups and churches, and from legacies left by those who chose to include Torch when they made their wills. Only a small amount of income comes from sales of literature which is priced to be near equivalent to standard print publications and therefore well below true economic cost. Our magazines and booklets are free of charge as is our library service. Our donation and legacy income therefore supports our literature work as well as all of our fellowship and personal support activities.

It now costs around £1,850 per calendar day to sustain the work of Torch. Please join us in prayer over the financial needs of the work.

Giving by standing order is really helpful, even if it is just for a small amount, as it increases the proportion of income that is predictable. For taxpayers, Gift Aid increases the value of each donation by 28%. We can send forms for both standing order and Gift Aid on request. If you are supporting Torch financially, then prayerfully consider committing to a standing order and to maximising the value of your giving through gift aid.

Your may choose to give to specific projects. If you do, these funds are considered as restricted to that purpose although, as there is an organisational burden associated with the overseeing and reporting of these projects, Torch does reserve the option to apply up to 10% of such restricted funds to support the costs of running the organisation that makes the projects possible.

Torch can receive donations by cash, cheque or over the phone by using most popular credit/debit cards. Call 01858 438260 if you want more information about supporting Torch.