Beekeeper seeks pot of gold for Christian drug education charity 

Baptist church member Kris McDonald explains more about his role with HopeUK

Kris McDonald was attending the annual weekend conference of a national charity last April. He had just accepted a job offer with the organisation and the conference was an opportunity for an informal, if intense, induction prior to starting his new role.

Meanwhile on that Sunday morning, at his home church—a small Baptist chapel in north Northamptonshire—they were praying for the work of a Christian organisation, a regular slot in their Sunday service. Only on this Sunday, they were praying for Hope UK, the national drug education charity that Kris was about to start working with.

'Someone asked my wife where I was,' he explains, 'and she said: ‘He is working for the organisation you prayed for today!’ Our chapel is small but has always put a strong emphasis upon service and still manages to do a lot of work in the community. That they were praying for the organisation that I was about to start working for kind of blew me away.'

With a background in research and a PhD in Russian politics—having previously worked with a charity supporting persecuted Christians around the globe—Kris was looking to spread his wings in seeking a new position. His job search alighted on Hope UK, a Kettering-based charity not too far from his home. He decided to apply for the role of fundraiser.

'While I have always been fascinated by what is going on across the world, I thought it would be great to focus on issues we face in the UK, and how we can support our young people,' Kris said.

Although Kris had a general understanding of the problems caused by substance use, the field of alcohol and drug education was new to him.

'Some things have been an eye-opener,' he noted. 'In particular, the rather cynical ways in which vapes and alcohol are marketed towards children, and the ways that drugs are distributed in town centres. The main thing that has really impressed me about Hope UK is how brilliant the sessions that they do in schools are. There has been so much work and refinement put into the different approaches to equip children with life skills; they are incredibly effective and draw a great response from children and young people.'

As a parent of two young people, Kris says he is acutely aware of the challenges children face today. Working for a charity which is allowing Christians to help children navigate some of the pressures they face growing up is a huge privilege. Now four months into his role, Kris finds himself juggling immediate and pressing priorities alongside planning for the future.

'Our current fundraising campaign is very important for the future of our charity – our work is at risk if we cannot secure enough funding. We have managed to raise substantial funds, but there is still some way to go. For me it is great that the whole team is pulling together and supporting each other to achieve our fundraising goal. That said, as a fundraiser it would be remiss of me not to encourage everyone to support us if they can do so.

'Right now, I am trying to find a balance between our immediate needs, medium-term goals such as trying to get trust funding, and longer-term strategic goals such as how to expand our supporter base, as well as how to bring more income in from our charitable activities to make our work sustainable in the long run. I am hopefully giving all these the right amount of attention.'

When he’s not busy in the office, Kris enjoys playing table tennis in his local leagues, and pottering about on his allotment, where he’s currently growing tomatoes, aubergines, and peppers. He is also an enthusiast for beekeeping:

'We have a couple of hives at the end of our garden. The bees have been very active this year with all the hot weather, and the honey they produce is just about worth the occasional sting.'
 

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To support Hope UK’s GoFundMe campaign, visit: hopeuk.org/appeal