Kind-hearted pupils at Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Bradford have been helping to bring comfort and joy to people facing hardship over the festive period.
Pupils at the school have been taking part in their annual Festive Winter Gift Programme, an annual giving programme which offers help and support to people in need during the long winter months.
The programme saw pupils, parents, staff and local businesses raising money for gifts and food items to fill hampers for distribution to local care homes, NHS workers, Bradford Foodbank, Inn Churches and Marie Curie.
The school also joined with other Star Academies schools to take part in ‘Food for All Week’. From 7th to 13th December, all 29 schools across the Star Academies multi-academy trust aim to distribute 50,000 food parcels and meals to those experiencing food poverty.
Hundreds of boxes containing vital food supplies were also given to local homeless charities to help support them as they helped people in desperate need this winter. Charities supported by the school included: The Salvation Army Shelter, Discovery House Hostel for Homeless, Bradford Homeless Support Group, Homeless Action, Bisan Refugee Group and Octavia Court Homeless Shelter. In total, more than 600 boxes of food were distributed, which was made thanks to the generosity of My Lahores restaurant and local businesses.
Robina Naznine, Principal at Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Bradford, said: “Many people in our local community have faced difficulties or hardship this year.
“Our Festive Winter Gift programme helped pupils to focus on ways that they could make a difference to those people, particularly those experiencing homelessness.
“Pupils’ positivity throughout our collections and fundraising activities has been truly inspiring, and I am extremely grateful to all our parents and staff for helping us to show our pupils how they can make a positive difference in the community.”