A BURTON school has backed the Mail’s Feed Our Families appeal in a unique way. Pupils at Paulet High School in Violet Way, Stapenhill, were given free reign of the school during a ‘takeover day’. They used time to set out plans for how the school could collect donations for this year’s campaign. This will see food banks at the Burton YMCA and South Derbyshire Community Volunteer Service (CVS) stocked up for Christmas.
Head teacher Ian McArthur, who was temporarily replaced by head boy Sean Bullous during the day, told the Mail he was happy to back the campaign. He said: “We at Paulet are delighted to support the Mail’s Feed our Families campaign. “As Christmas approaches it becomes ever more important to ensure all of our students understand the importance of offering care, compassion and help to anyone in need.
“During takeover day our student leadership team decided how to support the campaign during our annual Christmas Jumper charity day.
“I am especially pleased that the campaign is in conjunction with the YMCA which is an organisation that for 170 years has worked tirelessly to support people who, often through no fault of their own, are experiencing difficult times.
“We work closely with the YMCA, which is coming to school on December 2, as part of our Year 10 ‘wellbeing day’, to deliver sessions on the dangers and risks associated with homelessness.
“At the end of term, when our students all leave to enjoy their well-earned Christmas break, I will consider it a success if they have all brought in a food based donation, helped fill the boxes, and, most importantly, stopped to think about what care and compassion at Christmas time means in 21st century Britain.”
Despite the campaign being little more than a week old, dozens of businesses, organisations, schools and individuals have got behind it.
The Mail’s campaign this year focuses on the idea that everyone could donate just one tin of food.
