How trauma awareness was crucial to bringing about transformation for Emma’s family.
It’s all about connection
Clive Jennings explores how his church’s TLG partnership radically impacted their local community.
From fierce to future-focused
How Keira found hope for a bright future after struggling at school.
Journey alongside our children and families, from trials and challenges to hope and renewal. In this magazine, we delve into the transformational work of TLG partner churches across the UK. You’ll get to see the incredible relationships, stories and hope which have come about as a result!
In this edition:
The love of a family: Ellis and Sophie’s story
It’s all about connection
From fierce to future-focused: Keira’s story
In the community spirit: Alecia’s story
The value of community
Make a difference!
One of TLG’s core values is ‘local church’ and that’s no accident! We are passionate about the unparalleled role the UK Church plays in supporting struggling children and their families.
From my early days as a youth work volunteer and over two decades leading TLG, I’ve seen over and over again just how well placed the church is to answer the multitude of challenges children across the UK are facing.
It’s a huge privilege to see what God is doing as we support TLG partner churches to get alongside children and their families through TLG Education Centres, TLG Early Intervention and TLG Make Lunch. What I see are ordinary people so often going above and beyond to provide vital support and a loving community. Some of the many inspiring stories of lives transformed are awaiting you on every page of this magazine.
Our 2025 vision is to help 10,000 children a year in partnership with 400 churches, while seeing 2,000 children and their families connecting into the wider support of the church. You will see an incredible example of this in Ellis and Sophie’s story on page 4, where a church stepped in to offer both emotional and practical support to a family reeling from the effects of bereavement. It is such a powerful story!
local community in a remarkable way – showing themselves to be a key foundation of practical, emotional and spiritual support.
It did not go unnoticed. A recent survey found people who do not identify as Christian were more likely, since the COVID-19 crisis, to agree with the statement ‘the UK Church is making a positive difference in the world’, with 42% agreeing the UK Church is also making a difference in their community.*
The UK Church is a unique army of volunteers spread out across the country and so often at the heart of local communities. We hope this magazine will both inspire you to think about what the church can do and encourage you to consider the part you can play in this journey. We have been so humbled to see hundreds of churches continue to join us through this difficult season.
Grab a cuppa and enjoy the read!
4 6 8 10 12 14
The UK Church’s role in supporting people in crisis was made even clearer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Churches, including TLG partner churches, adapted to meet the needs of the
Tim Morfin Founder and Chief Executive*Survey conducted by Savanta ComRes and commissioned in partnership with YourNeighbour and World Vision.
The love of a
As you’ll know, ‘family’ isn’t always confined to traditional structures. ‘Family’ extends to those who are there when you need them, those who care and show love. The Church is one of the world’s biggest families! It’s characterised by support, connection and hope. Our partner churches have been able to welcome families and children into their wider church community, with beautiful, life-changing results.
After tragedy struck, Emma and her two children, Sophie (11) and Ellis (10) found care from TLG Early Intervention (EI) partner, Christ Church Clevedon, of immeasurable value. Emma’s husband Kev was a military man.
Unfortunately, Kev’s health quickly declined out of nowhere and he became blind, had a stroke, couldn’t talk and was paralysed. “Life involved a lot of heartache because my husband had been very ill for a long time,” says Emma.
“Bringing two children up while trying to care for someone so ill was tough. The children needed help which just wasn’t able to give. I wanted to do right by my kids but my husband needed me all the time.”
“School was a real struggle because both kids had a trauma diagnosis,” Emma continues. “They couldn’t concentrate, they lacked focus, their brains weren’t in a space to be able to learn so they were falling behind. So when the kids’ school said that TLG could help us, it felt like it was the answer to what we desperately needed. TLG became an extension of me.
“Tragically, not long after we began being supported by TLG, Kev died.”
“I felt angry at school,” sighs Sophie. “I really struggled with my friendships and my confidence.” Ellis was unable to manage his emotions which led to him getting into trouble
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It relieved stress. Before TLG, I didn’t really have many friends so I would sit and watch everyone else play. I’d just be by myself and think about things. Helen was someone who was always there for me. She was like a best friend.
” - Sophie
Emma nods. “The kids were really happy to see their coaches. It was something special for the children because it was their time to be listened to. They needed that space to express themselves.”
Coaching made a huge difference to Sophie. “One of my treasures is the last present I got from my dad,” she says. “He took me to Build-a-Bear and I chose a teddy. He recorded
himself saying ‘I love you Sophie’ so I can press the bear’s paw and hear him again. took my bear in to show Helen. We talked about my dad in my coaching sessions which was really helpful. I used to be behind at school but now I’ve caught up,” Sophie grins. “Helen says I’m thriving now and that’s how feel.”
“The kids changed, they calmed down,” continues Emma. Ellis says: “I used to feel all alone. would crawl up in a little ball under my bed and just hide. It was a huge relief when Gerry came along. Things weren’t so hard for me anymore and I’m more open to being myself now. I don’t get so angry now and Gerry’s helped me to see that can be myself and take myself away from situations when need to.”
During lockdown, the same church responded to the crisis by supporting the family through TLG Box of Hope – delivering emergency food and wellbeing parcels. “That doorstep chat and feeling of community was so key,” says Emma.
“The burden of managing a tight budget with two children was a struggle, but when that parcel would arrive I’d find what I’d been needing – and a friendly face to speak to knowing that we weren’t, and still aren’t, alone.”
During the hardships her family have faced, Emma has connected with a verse from the Bible from the book of Isaiah, chapter 40 verse 31: “
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
at school. But things changed when they both began coaching with TLG Early Intervention coaches, Gerry and Helen. “ The days that Gerry came made school feel much happier. It really helped my behaviour because I had something to look forward to and I would get sent out less.
”
- Ellis
Sophie: “Helen (TLG EI coach, pictured) says I’m thriving now and that’s how feel too!”
Emma, Sophie and Ellis have been through so much, but the ongoing support and relationship with their local church has been truly transformational! However, there are children who are still in vital need of support, without anyone there with them.
We need to reach these children. We need to get alongside them, before it’s too late. To do that, we need your help.
Becoming a Hope Giver (monthly donor) today means that you will help transform the lives of thousands more children like Ellis and Sophie.
Make a difference today! Visit: www.tlg.org.uk/there-with-me where you can also watch Emma, Sophie and Ellis’ inspirational story in film.
It’s all about connection
Even as TLG Early Intervention grows and we’ve coached 47 children, it’s not just about numbers. It’s about going deeper and wider to truly engage and build relationships! I’ve often said it’s the one-to-one relationships that build the church and Early Intervention does that beautifully.
Through our TLG partnership, we get to connect, on a deeper level, with families who have very little connection with church. Connections are made, but not in the traditional way of ‘let’s get you into a pew’! Instead, our intention is to be like Jesus: to meet people where they’re at and just show them real love.
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We see lives transformed, but not in the small way we expected. Lives are drastically changed!
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Iremember wandering around New Wine Leadership Conference with our church’s children and families coordinator, and we got to the TLG stall. As a church, we were praying for a way to better engage with local families. We already had great relationships with nearby schools, but we felt called to go further in serving and sharing the gospel in very practical ways.
The more we looked at TLG and the concept of Early Intervention coaching, the more it answered what we felt called to do. We had a picture of a two-way bridge: the church reaching the community and the community reaching out into church.
We just went for it. It was so timely as well, because the local authority were making huge cutbacks in their provision and support in schools. I remember a headteacher saying that a family has got to be ‘beyond crisis’ to even access help. So it seemed to be God’s timing, as we could see the possibilities that could come from a TLG partnership. With Early Intervention coaches coming alongside children and families at such a critical time, we could make a real difference..
local church. Since members of Christ Church Clevedon began their TLG journey in 2017, they have seen incredible transformation in the lives of children and families in their local community, including Emma, Sophie & Ellis. Clive Jennings (Christ Church’s Vicar) discusses why they share our vision to see children and families get the support they need...
Shortly after partnering with TLG, there were a lot of bereavements in a local school. Normally a school, or a church, would really struggle to provide the necessary support in those circumstances. Yet, because TLG was in place, we had the resources, structure and relationships to reach out to the children and their families. More than that, every child we reached represented a family to whom we were able to show God’s love, and to whom we could refer for wider support when needed. Suddenly, the church’s position in the community was extremely relevant. It met people where they were, having a much bigger impact!
Something that really drew us to TLG Early Intervention was that it’s not always about the church being “the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”. Churches are often drawn to crisis ministry and, while there is a real need for that, TLG Early Intervention means that churches can step in early and be a positive voice into children’s lives, equipping them and supporting them now for a more hopeful future. You get to tell children ‘you are unique and wonderful’. You can speak so much goodness into their lives.
Some of the children we coach come along to a group we started called ‘The Fridge’. It hasn’t been able to run through lockdown, but it’s a youth group started by children from our church as a place for them to ‘chill out’. We would always finish with a game or a short message while the parents were collecting their children, so that was yet another crossover point where families who had kids being coached had an easy space to connect in with our wider church family. TLG Early Intervention led us into partnering with TLG Make Lunch and TLG Box of Hope. We started TLG Make Lunch in a school setting, but later moved it into the church as the relationships we had built grew deeper and our position in the community evolved.
Even if you’ve got just three or four people in your church and you’ve got a school nearby, do it! The church community can offer themselves to serve in this way, but the knock-on effect helps change the culture of the church to be more open to everyone. See where God will take the relationships you forge!
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TLG has never felt like a bolt-on to our church ministry. It’s always felt very much at the heart of who we are, part of our DNA. It has helped me personally step back and see the bigger picture of God at work in our area. We’ve been able to join in with God at work in the community!
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We, as the Church, are positioned to be light in the darkness in difficult situations. We are called to get alongside others in their brokenness and struggles. To act like Jesus.
Loving God and loving one another has been shown in many different expressions throughout many generations. When the Church reaches out into a community, it becomes visible. Jesus tells us that we are ‘the light of the world— like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden’ (Matthew 5:14). When we shine the light of God into our communities, the world around us takes note and starts to ask why: ‘why do you feed us every week’ or ‘why do you give your time as a coach?’ The reason is our love for God and our love for others.
Be a light in your community!
Despite COVID-19, we’ve partnered with 22 new churches so far in 2021, all who want to make a HUGE impact to young lives across the UK. But we know there are many more communities to reach. So we would love to partner with your church too!
Head over to www.tlg.org.uk/your-church and get ready to make a huge difference to children like Andy and Sharon (pictured above).
Andy and Sharon, who found hope, friendship and support at their TLG Make Lunch club, hosted at St John the Baptist church in Luton. Ellis receives Early Intervention coaching through Christ Church Clevedon
Keira experienced a significant trauma at a young age which resulted in cruel bullying. The only way Keira knew to respond was to physically fight back. Unfortunately, this resulted in her being excluded from primary school at a young age. But her story doesn’t end there!
KeIra needed the specialist support provided by TLG’s Reading Education Centre, which has been partnered with The Gate Church for 11 years. When she arrived at TLG, Keira had complex needs and was ‘difficult to work with.’ She didn’t want to be in the class, didn’t communicate and she would fight and attempt to destroy the classroom.
“Before TLG, my life was very destructive,” says Keira. “I didn’t go to classes at school, I was fighting all the time, I was disruptive… lots of ripping up books and destroying things. struggled to control my anger. If someone annoyed me, I would feel very wound up and want to fight them. I would describe myself before TLG as a bit vicious, very angry and fierce.”
The teachers at TLG all desperately wanted to help Keira, offering her a safe space to let her know she was valued and cared for. Rachel, TLG Reading headteacher, recalls: “when Keira walked through the doors of TLG we were greeted with a feisty child. Underneath the anger and the hard exterior was a girl who needed to be heard, understood and have the opportunity to rewrite her future.”
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My teachers gave me time and space and didn’t rush me. That helped me settle in quickly because I didn’t feel under pressure.
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Having known Keira throughout her time at TLG, Rachel is amazed by her transformation! “She now engages, contributes to lessons, wants to be in school and is about to make a successful transition back into mainstream education and study for her GCSEs.”
“Some of my best memories at TLG include sitting around a table before school,” Keira reminisces. “We would play cards and it was nice having everyone laughing together. I also loved having meals – especially at Christmas time! –it’s like a little school family.
“I’m moving on to mainstream school which will be a big step. TLG has helped me overcome my fears of things changing. They’ve taken me through what it will be like and made sure I know they will always be there if I need to speak to someone.
“I would say I’ve changed quite a bit from when first arrived at TLG. I’m more down to earth and much less destructive now. I’m better at keeping control. My teachers at TLG have really been there for me.”
Keira has found support from her local church as well. “There’s a youth group that I’ve been along to. It’s a great place to make new friends outside of school and meet people, so I’m glad I’ve found that support too.”
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In the future, I want to be a lawyer. If I hadn’t come to TLG, my future would look really different. I wouldn’t have been able to do what I want to do. I would most probably be out fighting all the time still and causing trouble. Thank you for helping me and being supportive, TLG! ”
In August, TLG received the tragic news that former student Raeye had passed away.
The news of Raeye’s death came as a huge shock. He was a bright and kind-hearted young man with vibrant energy and a beautiful smile. However, by the time Raeye joined TLG West London Education Centre in 2017, he had become shy and fatigued due to the challenges of transitioning into year 7 and the trauma he felt as a result. At first, he struggled to trust those around him at TLG, but he soon built positive relationships with the staff and students. Raeye flourished and developed selfbelief that he could go on and achieve.
Raeye had a snappy sense of humour and spread joy to the whole Education Centre. TLG West London became like family to him, his peers looked to him for advice and he was always looking for ways to connect with and reunite his classmates.
In 2018, Raeye successfully reintegrated into mainstream education. He worked hard to achieve his GCSEs in the middle of the pandemic, before starting his Business Studies course at college.
Unfortunately, his dream of university was never realised as Raeye’s life was lost in a tragic road accident in August. TLG pays tribute to this amazing young man, celebrating his life and recognising the many lives that he touched at TLG and beyond. We send our love, prayers and deepest condolences to his family and all who knew him.
To read former West London headteacher Deborah Barnett’s full tribute to Raeye, visit www.tlg.org.uk/raeye-tribute
After giving birth to her beautiful baby girl, Deannah, things took a difficult turn for Alecia’s mental health. Struggling financially, Alecia and her husband Deon had a lot of mouths to feed. They were carrying a lot of stress and needed extra support. When their local church, The Church of Pentecost in Wolverhampton, became one of 151 churches partnered with TLG to run Box of Hope, everything changed.
hen the pandemic came, my eldest daughter was home from university, so we had three children at home to feed,” says Alecia. “It really affected me, it was hard to provide for the family. During that time, I had postpartum psychosis which is a mental health condition, so having to think about extra things like finding food was really difficult.”
Receiving regular support through TLG Box of Hope made a huge difference to Alecia and Deon’s family. “It was a big help both emotionally and practically. Not having to worry about finding food took that bit of stress from me and the support also helped me in recovering from my mental health condition.”
“The food was great,” says Deshaun, aged 12. “One box had Jamaican Water Crackers which I enjoyed a lot.
I could see that it helped my mum out too, it had been tough seeing her struggle so much. There was Caribbean food in the parcels which made it very personal because it was stuff we would normally eat.”
“It made me happy and put a smile on my face. It was inclusive,” Alecia says.
Heather, The Church of Pentecost’s TLG Box of Hope coordinator, said: “We could see the need within our community where many families were struggling during the pandemic. We felt very humbled to see so many
families helped. We could see the impact it had within the neighbourhood with local businesses getting involved, as well as the impact on our church community!”
The church enlisted the help of a local supermarket that provided authentic Caribbean food for the boxes. With the demand continuing to grow and grow, the church even used its allotment to grow food to put in the boxes, including: apples; rhubarb; plums; strawberries; blackberries; raspberries and blackcurrants - ensuring families received delicious and healthy food to eat alongside the emotional support Box of Hope provided.
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I know there are people at the local church who will support me and my family when we need it. If it wasn’t for TLG, we would have struggled much more.
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Alecia and her family have been attending church services and have been supported by the wider church family as a result of TLG Box of Hope. Across the UK, over ONE MILLION meals have been delivered through TLG Box of Hope, helping families just like Alecia’s get the support they need!
Read the family’s full story at www.tlg.org.uk/alecia
Everything that TLG does begins with local churches who want to make a difference. From Leicester to Inverness, deep relationships have been formed and lives transformed as God’s love spreads through communities!
Having heard about TLG at New Wine, members of Leicester Elim Church saw the importance of reaching out to vulnerable children and their families. We caught up with Sharon and Pete to hear about the impact they’ve seen from Leicester Elim’s partnership with TLG Early Intervention (EI).
“TLG EI really can change a child’s life, from low selfesteem to high, from low academic expectation to much higher, so they can have a better future,” says Sharon. Pete agrees: “Through TLG EI we can go the extra mile... because we love to serve and God loves each child we reach. The regular coaching sessions with the children build impactful relationships where they can feel safe and able to open up.”
Sharon continues: “We’ve built links with the community out of our TLG EI partnership. One of our coaches kept in touch with a family after coaching their child. This opened the door to meet their needs during their recovery at home after an accident. Once they needed food and we took some gifts too.”
“During the pandemic, we moved to remote coaching and experienced a closeness to the parents we hadn’t expected. We got to know their needs and we helped with necessities and encouragement. We listened a lot and found ways to be creative with games and projects.”
“Over the four years (since we started EI) we have had most of the children come to our kids’ and youth club,” says Pete.
Four local churches in Inverness: The Barn Church Culloden; Culloden Balloch Baptist Church; Smithton Free Church and King’s Church Inverness have been blessing their community through food provision, beginning with The Barn Church’s TLG Box of Hope partnership, which has grown into a permanent provision venture.
“We ran TLG Box of Hope at Christmas,” says Becky. “It was amazing: we built great relationships with the families we supported and continued to establish the church as the centre of our community. What we were able to do through TLG Box of Hope was a catalyst – churches, charities and the community came together. We raised over £5000 to support
our community with TLG Box of Hope over Christmas, but the funding just kept coming! We were given a further £5000 so we set up a community fridge at the heart of our local area.”
“We now provide lots of food at the fridge, as well as hygiene items, essentials, and family activities like our seed bank, where people can grow things themselves. We had a little girl take away a tomato plant which was the same size as her! It’s opened up so many amazing conversations around people’s stories and their journeys, we’ve had lots of questions about faith and church. This project supported so many families through what has been such a tough time.”
C3 Church in Cambridge has been making a huge difference in the lives of children like Priya through their partnership with TLG Early Intervention (EI). Sixteen-year-old Priya started weekly coaching sessions with Penny (TLG EI coach) when she was struggling in school. Priya’s attitude towards life dramatically changed as a result of the regular support she received. Here’s Priya talking about her journey from negative thoughts and hopelessness to a positive outlook!
efore I started coaching sessions with Penny, was finding it difficult to settle in my classes. had been out of school for a number of months and it was hard trying to get back into everyday school life. I found it difficult to talk to others and make friends and had some bad experiences falling in with the wrong people. I got in trouble a lot back then. I didn’t see school as a place to learn and didn’t feel confident in myself.
“I had a really negative view on everything. I couldn’t see myself doing anything that I would have enjoyed or see anything to look forward to in my future, so I didn’t try to do well at anything. didn’t see much use in trying things that was unsure about or leaving my comfort zone, as those things made me feel stressed.
“Things started to get better for me once I began coaching with Penny. Penny is a very positive person! She would always find a way to make new things easy to understand. The first time we met I was really nervous. Although I didn’t speak much, she still gave me time and made it much more comfortable for me to open up.
Like
thoughtful, nice and friendly.”
Walk alongside a struggling child today. Become a Hope Giver.
“Penny was consistently calm and understanding, so I never felt rushed into talking. She always offered good advice about things that weren’t going well. If was getting into a lot more trouble than usual, she would help me figure out what the problem was. We did some great activities together! A simple one enjoyed was the colouring, as I would come out of a difficult lesson and be feeling stressed. Picking a colouring I liked and being able to have that time to calm myself and talk was very helpful.
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Penny invited me and my mum to a few gatherings at the church as well as a few meet-ups, where we can talk and catch up. This really makes me appreciate her care and kindness towards not only me but my family too!
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“I’m definitely much more positive now. I’d also say I’m much more hard-working and want to achieve more. Instead of giving up I’m able to keep pushing on! I even tried many new things such as clay-making and baking that I wouldn’t have done before.
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Having someone give their guidance on things I was unsure about. as well as having tasks that gave me time out of class to calm down and recap, has been really helpful.
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“I think that if I hadn’t had time with Penny, I could’ve been much worse now. Coaching has not only helped with school but also home life. It’s made me much more confident in myself. I’m going on to do A Levels now!
To other young people who are struggling, I would say: don’t try to copy others, because at the end of the day there’s only one you. So, try to be the best version of you that you can be.”
We were able to help over 15,000 struggling children in 2020, providing transformational support using our holistic, trauma-informed approaches. To find out more about Early Intervention, visit www.tlg.org.uk/early-intervention
This year, TLG has been able to help thousands of children like Priya thanks to our Hope Giver family (monthly donors). Generous support from our army of Hope Givers has meant we’ve been able to offer crucial support to children, using our holistic, trauma-informed approaches.
But there are still thousands more children and young people who are desperately in need of help and support.
At TLG, we understand how crucial traumaresponsive approaches are to the children we support. Children who have experienced trauma often find themselves using ‘survival brain’ instead of ‘learning brain’; meaning they struggle to learn and participate in a mainstream school class.
This often outplays in ways that are labelled ‘disruption’, putting them at higher risk of exclusion when they are actually communicating their need for support. Trauma-responsiveness instead focuses on understanding the causes of trauma and the way it is displayed in the actions of the children.
The children we reach are faced with some of the toughest starts in life. Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there! Like you, our Hope Giver family believe every child should receive the support they need. Will you become a Hope Giver and help us reach more children?
Visit: www.tlg.org.uk/hg
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the incredible stories of transformation happening through local churches up and down the UK! It’s only possible through our partnership with supporters who give, pray and help spread the word about TLG.
With the recent return to school, it’s no secret that the pandemic has had a devastating effect on the physical and emotional wellbeing of millions of children. We pray that every child will get the support they need and that no child will have to struggle alone.
We pray for all the children joining TLG Education Centres this year. May they settle in quickly and build great relationships with others at their Centre. We pray God’s love will shine through every TLG teacher and staff member and His hope pour out into every child’s life.
Partner churches and church families
Praise God for every TLG partner church and volunteer! We pray for sustained strength as they continue to build relationships with and support the children in their communities. We pray God will help local churches welcome those in their area into their wider church family through continued support and growing relationships.
We rely on our generous Hope Giver community to reach children just like Sophie, Ellis, Priya, Keira, Deshaun and Deannah who you’ve read about in this magazine. Will you become a Hope Giver or increase your monthly donation to help us offer life-changing support to more children this year?
I/we would like to become a Hope Giver
or, please call me about my one-off donation on: on the 1st 15th (please tick) of each month, until further notice. The first payment will take place in (month/year)): M M Y Y
would like to increase my monthly gift by: would like to give a one-off donation of: enclose cash / a cheque (made payable to TLG) for the amount above.
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There’s more where that came from...
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