Miss Markham and Mrs Gregory have been working tirelessly through December organising the Aspire Donation Bank for Blackpool families finding it hard this Christmas, endlessly calling in on classes to collect non-perishable food items and Christmas gifts which were delivered to the Salvation Army headquarters in Blackpool this morning using three cars to get it all in!
Miss Markham said: “It’s a huge thank you from me to all students and staff who have donated items and for the encouragement and kindness shown which will really make such a difference to people who are less fortunate in our local area.”
Mrs Gregory added: “It is truly remarkable what we can do when we club together; the sheer kindness from our students and staff has been astounding. What a difference it will make. THANK YOU! X”
On our last day here at Aspire it will be a non-uniform/Christmas Jumper day. Previously we have asked for a monetary donation from students, but this year we are asking for a donation of a tin of food if they can afford to.
Congratulations to forms 7I (Ms Martin) and 9T (Miss Morris) who managed to donate more food and gifts than any other in the entire school – well done! A small thank you has been delivered to those forms by Miss Markham.
A special mention must also go to John Magee, the Kindness Coach, who has personally donated £50 to the cause, so thank you John!
Now that the Salvation Army in Blackpool has received the food and gift donations they will be used in Christmas parcels and given to those most in need in our local community. Sandra and Doug pictured with Miss Markham above, who run the Salvation Army Food Bank and who we are working with, have already given out over 250 food parcels and our donations will help many more; they are also hosting a Christmas dinner for 100 homeless and vulnerable families on Christmas Day.
Francesca, Mr Ewart, Ocean, Logan, Mrs Gregory, Mollie and Paige load the cars ready to deliver our donations to the Salvation Army
Tina Meredith from the Salvation Army thanked Aspire for the donations: “Thank you for your willingness to donate to the Salvation Army. Throughout the year we help many individuals and families who are struggling to provide a basic daily meal. The pandemic meant many people lost their jobs and relied even more on food banks. Without the school meal many children were not able to have two good meals each day and were hungry.
“Christmas is fast approaching and the extra burden on families is to provide Christmas gifts for the children and extra food and treats. No child should be without anything at Christmas. They should enjoy some good festive food and receive gifts. With this in mind, thank you for your help and have a very Happy Christmas.“