Delivering Christmas presents to children who would otherwise miss out on presents this winter
News article from December 23, 2020
School-Home Support (SHS) has delivered almost 2,000 Christmas presents to children who would otherwise miss out on presents this winter.
Gifts were given to vulnerable children in 49 schools across England thanks to generous corporate partners and supporters including: Allen & Overy, Blackrock and Clifford Chance.
Child poverty in the UK at Christmas
In the UK, nine children in every class of 30 live in poverty, negatively impacting the child’s educational attendance, engagement and attainment. This has been made even worse by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Christmas is ordinarily an incredibly difficult time for disadvantaged families living in poverty, but 2020 has seen the number of people in the UK living in poverty reach 23% of the population according to analysis published by the Legatum Institute.
Increasing demand for SHS services
Demand for SHS services have quadrupled following school closures. SHS Practitioners working on the frontlines to support vulnerable families have responded to safety concerns, delivered food parcels to families at risk of facing hunger, and enabled children to engage with education from home by supplying equipment.
Speaking about the delivery of corporate gifts, our Chief Executive, Jaine Stannard, said: “2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for so many people across the globe, and has drawn a focus on the inequalities in society. More children than ever face a Christmas without gifts. We are so grateful to our corporate partners for enabling us to ensure that almost 2,000 children don’t have to wake up on Christmas morning without a present.”
The impact of these gifts
Mr A.J. Rowlinson, who is an Assistant Head Teacher at St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School, said: “The gifts that have been donated by the partners of SHS will make some of our most vulnerable students incredibly happy this Christmas time. When discussing this scheme I remember saying that we would be most grateful to receive even one gift for one of our students. However, to receive 22 is truly overwhelming.”
Tegan Thompson, who received a gift in Blackpool, said: “I don’t think I can wait until Christmas to open this. Thank you!”