CHILDREN at Haydonleigh Primary School helped to make Christmas extra special for some of the town’s most vulnerable people by filling gift bags for the homeless.

Year 5 pupils at the school in Haydon Wick handed over bags packed with warm winter woolies and chocolates for guests visiting the Christmas Care homeless shelter this year.

The Christmas Care shelter, which will run from Christmas Eve to December 28 at Queen’s Drive Methodist Church, opens every year to support the town’s homeless, vulnerable, lonely and those on low incomes.

Each year charity chairman Patsy Moloney asks the local community to give what they can in terms of food and clothing to support the people who have none.

And this year pupils got behind the effort by making little bags packed with gloves, hats, scarves, socks, toiletries and chocolate.

Liz Swindall, a teaching assistant at the school, said: “I run the Rachel Swindall Trust which I set up in memory of my daughter, who died when she was about 20.

“Rachel had mental health issues, and I was looking to see if there was something we could do with the lead up to Christmas.

“Many people who are homeless also have mental health issues, and where Rachel had to go quite far away for treatment I was always concerned that she could find herself on the streets, since she wouldn’t have told us if she found herself homeless.

“When I heard about Christmas Care it seemed natural to do something to support them.

“In Year 5 they had been looking at the Victorians and learning about Barnados and it all tied in.

“We asked the children to bring in some hats and scarves and also some chocolate, and we thought we would only have enough for one small gift bag.

“But all the children really got behind it, and we ended up with a few to hand over to Patsy, which was brilliant.”

How you can help charity

Christmas Care needs a number of items to ensure the shelter has enough to offer and provide to the homeless.
   They include: food, sleeping bags, bedding, towels, toiletries, clothing, footwear, and donations to cover expenses (cheques payable to Christmas Care).
Donate goods at the Queen’s Drive Methodist Church on:

  • December 18, 10am-2pm
  • December 20, 10am-3pm
  • December 21, noon-2pm
  • December 23, all day

The Pilgrim Centre, in Regent Circus,  is now accepting donations from 10am until 2pm.