Ashington Parish Church has joined forces with SpendAndGive, an Internet based fundraising company, to help raise funds for the church's renovation project.

SpendAndGive works with online retailers to raise funds for charities by offering an additional no-cost channel for charity supporters to access a growing number of high profile retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Amazon and ToysRus among others via a dedicated website.

Ashington Parish Church is delighted to join the scheme, launched this week, which allows supporters - both existing members of the congregation and residents of Ashington - to support the renovation of their Parish Church at no cost to themselves.

Shoppers start their Internet shopping by logging onto www.ashingtonpc.spendandgive.com and then follow the links to the many on-line stores who are part of the scheme. When the purchase is made, the church receives a commission on the sale.

Chris Maclay, our Vicar at Ashington, is enthusiastic about the scheme: " The renovation of the church is going extremely well, as is the fundraising for it. But there is no doubt that the amount of work being carried out is enormous, and carries a cost.

"This is a fantastic way for everyone in Ashington to get involved with their Parish church in a way that doesn't cost the buyer anything at all, but will help us significantly as we continue to turn Ashington church into a warm and welcoming place for the whole village, not just the congregation on Sunday."