As a rights respecting school, this Christmas we are teaching our pupils about the importance of charity and understanding in our local and wider community. Therefore, this December we have been collecting donations for the Welcome Centre in Ilford. The Welcome Project provides many services to men and women who are homeless from its purpose built Day Centre in Ilford. The project provides information, advice and guidance on a range of issues associated with homelessness; practical support; support with entering the job market; a nurse led clinic; counselling; alternative therapies and a chiropody clinic. They also offer food and showering facilities for all that they can- but of course, as a charitable organisation, they rely heavily on donations in order to make this happen.
More information about the Welcome Centre can be found here: http://www.healthylivingprojects.org.uk/projects/welcome-project-page.html
This year at Parkhill Junior School, for the month of December, we have taken part in a Reverse Advent Calendar. For each day of the month, instead of opening a door and receiving a chocolate, we have asked parents, carers and children to donate a different item each day. Whether it is one thing over the course of the month, or one hundred things, every donation is gratefully received. As a result, we have fourteen crates of toiletries, cereal, tinned foods, pasta and rice- all to be collected by the Welcome Centre on the 20th December.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents (and children) for making this happen. With your generous donations, we know that we are helping to make Christmas a little easier for those in our local area who find the festive season particularly difficult.