Students at Longcroft School in Beverley have been working hard to raise money for charity over recent months.
Forms in Year 10 have worked especially hard, raising £600, which has been split between three charities.
Mr Jez Cassidy, Year Leader, said:
“I’m really proud of what our Year 10 students have achieved – £600 is a considerable amount of money and they’ve shown real commitment in raising it. We wanted to make the charities relevant to the students, so they have chosen which ones the money will go towards.”
“Just as adults sometimes give donations to charities to which they have a personal link in some way, the students selected charities that have supported them, their families and friends.”
The three charities that each receive £200 each are Help for Heroes, Leukaemia Research and SANDS – the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity, which supports anyone effected by the death of a baby and supports research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives.
Money was raised through a variety of traditional methods, from bakes sales and teddy bear naming, to a sponsored silence and other activities. However, alongside raising funds for good causes, the work also had another effect on the students.
Charlie Towse (14) explained:
“By organising these events it brought each form together. We were all working on the same project for the same reason – to raise funds for our charities. We had a lot of fun raising the money and it was great to get so much support from students in other years.”
Thomas Tozer (15) added: “It gives you a good feeling to know you are doing something that will benefit other people, especially as the charities mean something to people in our year. It makes it personal and important.”
Maggie Simkiss, a befriender from SANDS, explained:
“It was lovely to see such dedication from the Longcroft students in raising these funds. I was also impressed with how mature they have been in selecting their charities.”
“SANDS works with anyone who has been affected by the loss of a baby – this might be a parent, but it could also be an older brother or sister.”
“The money the students have raised will help our work in this local area – from supporting medical research to providing befriends like me who work with individuals and families. We are very grateful for this donation and thank the students for their hard work and generosity.”
Mr Cassidy concluded:
“What we’ve got here is a bunch of caring students, who really wanted to make a success of their fundraising to support these charities. It’s sometimes easy to blame teenagers for problems in the community, but I hope this shows that the majority of young people actually are caring, considerate and hard working.”
“The money they have raised through their own efforts will make a real difference to people’s lives and they deserve our congratulations for doing this.”
