Lady Sophie Windsor launches SHS appeal in HELLO! magazine
News article from January 25, 2021
Our Royal Patron Lady Sophie Windsor joined forces with HELLO! magazine to launch an appeal to support SHS to help Britain’s most vulnerable children and families during lockdown. The appeal will raise vital funds to help safeguard children in their homes and ensure they have access to education throughout the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
School is a protective factor
School is a protective factor for many children when home is not a safe place to be. In the current climate with school taken away, huge numbers are now at risk. Domestic abuse has risen during lockdown, and many children are without food and heating in their homes, with their parents facing financial fears. This is where our service is paramount.
Support we offer includes providing food vouchers, toys and games, IT equipment, support for housing or benefits issues and more.
The appeal
This important appeal, which is part of HELLO! magazine’s #HelloToKindness movement, will aim to raise donations that fund more School-Home Support practitioners on the frontline, to ensure children are safe, fed and warm. Funds will also be used to help families overcome barriers to access education post-lockdown, arming even the most deprived pupils in England with the tools needed to learn.
Speaking about the appeal, HELLO! Editor-In-Chief Rosie Nixon comments: “When I was told about School-Home Support and the desperate situations their practitioners are witnessing every day, I knew we had to do something to help. For so many children, school is their safe space and with that taken away, thousands are at risk of maltreatment and are going to bed hungry. This is happening all around the UK – perhaps even on your street. This is not right. I really hope our audience will feel compelled to donate so together we can make a difference. These children and families desperately need our help.”
Lady Sophie Windsor said: “I’m delighted to be teaming up with HELLO! to launch this urgent appeal to protect this lockdown’s most vulnerable victims – underprivileged children. They are going through untold horrors and we have to act now. Thank you so much for playing your part.”
Jaine Stannard, our Chief Executive, said: “It’s fantastic to work with HELLO! and Lady Sophie Windsor on this charity appeal. Everyone
around the country feels the pain of the latest lockdown, but none more so than vulnerable families. We’re facing an unprecedented demand for our services – and we’re expecting this to increase in the coming weeks and months. Donations have never been more needed.”