With Christmas fast approaching, leaders at The Stour Academy Trust decided to bring a bit of Christmas spirit and festive cheer to its families who have been hit hardest by Covid-19.
Staff have gone above and beyond to create 65 Christmas hampers which are being delivered to eight primary schools in Swale, Canterbury and Ashford.
A spokesperson from the Trust Central Team explained the thinking behind the Christmas Hamper idea, “Covid-19 has affected the entire population in many different ways. To take employment as an example, people who were already in insecure jobs before the pandemic have been hit incredibly hard and in fact many who thought they were in secure positions have suddenly found themselves in a very different situation.”
“As a Trust we are well aware that many of our families who have been hit particularly hard by Covid-19 may even be struggling to find enough food to meet their basic needs over the Christmas period. We made the collective decision, in the spirit of Christmas, to provide these families with a special Christmas Hamper to bring some Christmas cheer to what has been an extra difficult time for them.”
Due to year group bubble and school closures, this term has already seen the Trust provide hundreds of food vouchers and hampers to parents whose children are in receipt of free school meals.
The aim of the Christmas Hampers, is to assist the hardest hit families, many of whom are not eligible for free school meals. Over £2,500 was spent on the Hampers, entirely financed by central Trust fundraising.
