You are invited to this time of worship to celebrate the life of Jo Grant and thank God for her.

We ask that you wear whichever clothes you feel most comfortable in and do not feel obliged to wear black. We also ask that you do not send or bring flowers to the service, but instead make a donation to Aquila Way at www.aquilaway.org

Children are most welcome.

The service will be held at:
City Church
The Castlegate
Melbourne Street
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2JQ
www.city-church.co.uk

For those not able to attend, please note the service will be broadcast live at:
www.ustream.tv/channel/jo-grant

We look forward to welcoming you to a wonderful
service celebrating the life of an exceptional person.

With love from the family and friends of Jo Grant

We're delighted to confirm details of what promises to be one of our most glittering events to date - the Aquila Way Silver Jubilee Christmas Ball. This year's extravaganza is taking place in the beautiful Chandelier Foyer and Bishop Suite of the Ramside Hall Hotel on Friday 11th December. The occasion begins with a complimentary drinks reception at 7:00pm, followed by a sumptious three course Christmas Meal. As previous guests have requested, live music this year will include swing, soul and disco and will close with a disco & DJ. This year has a elegant silver theme - expect some silver surprises! Dress is Black Tie and in keeping with the theme we're asking all guests to wear something silver. Tickets are a steal at only £45 per person, £450 for a table of ten. For reservations and further information, contact Central Office.

Aquila Way, Durham Catherdral, Centrepoint, and Youth for Christ have joined in partnership to deliver another Big Sleep event. This year the event is being held in Durham Cathedral on 16th October. The Big Sleep is an event where young people are sponsored to give up their beds for the night in order to learn what it would be like to be homeless. Throughout the twelve hours (8pm to 8am), a varied programme involving presentations, buskers and drama is delivered. All we ask of those taking part is that they pledge to raise at least £35 each, bring a sleeping bag and an open mind.
Groups are welcome (one adult required for every six young people).

For further information contact Central Office, alternatively go to the Downloads page on What We Do and download the flyer and applications forms. Funds raised from the event will be distributed to homeless charities in our region.

We're pleased to confirm the date of the next Incarnate Conference has now been confirmed as Thursday 18th June to Saturday 20th June 2009. For those who may not know, Incarnate seeks to equip the Church and Christian projects to serve communities in need in the North East of England; Aquila Way is one of the organisations that supports Incarnate.

Incarnate's much anticipated third conference will be held at Heaton Baptist Church in Newcastle and key speakers include Bart Campolo and Andy Hawthorn. The conference this year will be delivered in three strands: intimacy with Jesus, intimacy with the poor and intimacy into action. The Conference Programme is now available confirming all sessions and seminars. For reservation and conference information, please visit www.incarnate-ne.org or email vspencer@aquilaway.org.

Aquila Way was founded by a group of young people who were challenged by Isaiah 58 and wanted to do something about the injustice they saw around them. As we approach our 25th anniversary, Aquila Way would like to pass on this heritage and once again challenge individuals to birth something new in the name of Jesus and serve the poor in our community.

Yokebreakers - the Aquila Way Intern Programme - begins autumn this year and runs through to the following summer. There are three main aspects to the internship; placement, training and mentoring. It will be an opportunity to get hands dirty serving the needy, coupled with developing leadership and entrepreneourship skills by working alongside a local church or charity to develop and establish new ministries and projects which engage with the needs of the poor in a fresh and relevant way. We are looking to find fifteen young people (aged 21 to 30 years old) with a real passion to serve the disadvantaged and who have some leadership potential; you should be already grounded in your faith - a Christian for at least a year and firmly rooted in a local church which could give a reference. If you, or anyone you know fits the bill, get in touch!

This is a really fantastic opportunity for the right people...and wouldn't it be wonderful to birth something new 25 years on from August 1984 when Aquila Housing Association was formed? Exciting times ahead!

On Saturday 18th April 2009. Aquila Way were delighted to present the The London Welsh Male Voice Choir who performed an exclusive concert at the spectacular Durham Cathedral (by kind permission of the Chapter of Durham) in order to raise funds and awareness for the charity. The choir's performance was absolutely outstanding and the three solo performances from the Northern Sinfonia's Bradley Creswick were phenomenal. Hundreds of people attended and although proceeds from ticket sales have yet to be calculated, £1000 was collected in buckets from exiting guests alone.
Our heartfelt and sincere thanks go to all the artists that performed that evening, as well as to the audience for their kindness, standing ovations and enthusiasm.

Since it's inception, Aquila Way's Karis Project has always been situated next to an empty property - a redundant Community building. Following three years of petitioning, the building was reopened and Aquila Way began to operate the Community House in 2006. The centre was a phenomenal success with regular activities taking place from Sure Start for children to knitting and bingo for the elderly. The Community House brought together the residents on the estate and sowed the seeds for positive neighbourhood relations.

Following it's success and it's desire for growth, Aquila Way are delighted to confirm that the Community House has now been appointed as a stand alone charity called Edberts House (logo to the right). Funding will be sourced more effectively and Aquila Way will continure to be involved in the centre's fantastic results and successful community cohesion.

At the end of 2008, Aquila Way received funding for three years from Lloyds TSB Foundation to work intensively with ex-prisoners. Two members of staff have been appointed and work has begun in order to support ex-prisoners in gaining and maintaining a tenancy, as well as accessing training, education and employment. As with all Aquila Way projects a strong identity is vital and we're happy to confirm the project has now been officially titled The AMP (The Aquila Mentoring Project). Should you wish to find out more information on the this project contact Team Leader Ed Greenfield on 0191 4915700 or email egreenfield@aquilaway.org

We're also keen to recruit volunteers in order to make an even greater difference and see the cycles of re-offending broken. If you're interested in getting involved, please contact Volunteer Coordinators (details on Volunteers page under Projects).

We're aware that our website is currently out of date, namely the Community Mentors project (AMP) and 58:12 Properties do not have their own web pages. The website is currently being redesigned and the updated site will be uploaded late Spring.

For those interested in 58:12 Properties, the one year old project has proved more successful than anticipated. With properties now totalling 18 and growing every month, this year has seen accommodation for 22 adults and 14 children. The project initially provides a 6 month lease through a private landlord with a little bit of support from a 58:12 Neighbour (a volunteer who visits weekly to check everything is going smoothly). 58:12 Properties is open to anyone who is homeless aged over 16 years, male or female, single or a family and needs a little support. Referrals can be made directly to Aquila Way from the person themselves or by support workers or local authorities. If you'd like more information on 58:12, please contact 0191 4925700 or email info@aquilaway.org

NB: If you have arrived at this website searching for information relating to the town centre redevelopment in Purley, Surrey, please follow go to www.58-12.co.uk which is a different project and not linked to Aquila Way.

clicknow.org.uk is an internet search engine with a big difference - every search you do can raise money for Aquila Way. It's very easy to set up your charity choice and once complete, no further work is required...the pennies keep mounting up!

Visit www.clicknow.org.uk/AquilaWay and don't forget to add it to your favourites or better still make it your default home page. It doesn't cost you or Aquila Way a penny - please pass the good news on!

Looking for an unusual gift? Please consider buying an Aquila Gift of Hope for someone you love and help Aquila Way give 'hope for the future and support to get there' to numerous young people.

See our Downloads page for the choice of gifts available, as well as a downloadable order form.






And don't forget to include an Aquila Way pin badge in your order and add a little extra to your gift...

Supporting Aquila Way while selling on eBay.co.uk is easy. Not only can you make a difference by donating between 10% and 100% of your item's selling price, but you also benefit from our listing standing out with the special blue and yellow ribbon - often this can mean more bids and more success!

The good news is that, though it will require a little leg-work to get you up and running, once you've registered it requires little extra effort. Just minutes to start really making a difference. Visit www.ebay.co.uk/ebay for charity for further details.

'How did I come to write my autobiography? A few friends said I should write a book about my life as it may help others find peace... '

An honest, inspiring and spiritual life story of a remarkable young woman called Joan Evans. Written from the heart, the story begins in London during the Second World War. Joan relates her life to date revealing a courageous and compassionate character in the face of neglect and cruelty. Joan has donated all proceeds from the sale of her book to Aquila Way; as she writes 'I have also witnessed the very thing I prayed for all those years ago - Aquila.'

If you would like to purchase a copy of this amazing book, please send a cheque for £5.00 (which includes postage and packing) for the attention of Jane Brown at Aquila Way, Kings Court, Kingsway, Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE11 0SH.

NB: Parts of the story take place in The Hollies Children's Home (formerly known as The Lamorbey Children's Home). Please visit their site directly if you would like to find out further details: www.hollieskids.co.uk

Wish you could do something similar to Aquila in your area, but don't have the expertise? Well now you can... Aquila have developed a franchise to enable you to do it. We'll help you provide professional quality services to the homeless without having to waste time, effort and money making all the mistakes yourselves.

Interested? Check out the Suitability Matrix on the Downloads page, then contact Projects Director, Phil Dobson on 0191 491 5700.

We're delighted to confirm details of what promises to be one of our most glittering events to date - the Aquila Way Silver Jubilee Christmas Ball. This year's extravaganza is taking place in the beautiful Chandelier Foyer and Bishop Suite of the Ramside Hall Hotel on Friday 11th December. The occasion begins with a complimentary drinks reception at 7:00pm, followed by a sumptious three course Christmas Meal. As previous guests have requested, live music this year will include swing, soul and disco and will close with a disco & DJ. This year has a elegant silver theme - expect some silver surprises! Dress is Black Tie and in keeping with the theme we're asking all guests to wear something silver. Tickets are £40 per person if paid in full before 1st June, £50 per person thereafter.

For reservations and further information, contact Event Coordinator Victoria Spencer on 0191 4915700 or email vspencer@aquilaway.org