GENEROUS sixth form students at Derby Cathedral School have been supporting the city’s most vulnerable people by collecting a wide range of goods including food tins, clothes and books for more than a dozen city charities.
A range of charities have been personally selected by students to benefit from their support, including Derby Food 4 Thought, The Hope Centre and Safe + Sound.
The 16 and 17-year-olds at the school, which is part of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust, contacted their chosen charities to find out what was most needed, then presented their findings to each form group to appeal for donations.
They spent weeks collecting hundreds of food tins, children’s books, craft items, clothes and feminine hygiene products which they then personally delivered to their charities, supporting the most vulnerable people in Derby.
Alex Warnes, 17, was part of a group collecting food tins for Derby Hope Centre which supports a food bank he passes on his walk to school.
He said: “The charity helps all kinds of people from homeless people to those with disabilities, migrants and refugees. My group and I thought it was a wonderful cause.”
Isabell Taylor and Carys-Aimee Truman donated children’s books to Derby City Lab as part of an appeal organised by Derby Book Festival.
Isabell said they had been inspired by the appeal as books had meant a lot to them as children. Working as a team they collected up more than 60 children’s books, some donated by teachers.
“Reading helps your imagination as a child,” said Isabell. “Without that, not only do children lack literacy skills, but reading also helps build their cognitive and imaginative skills.”
Samuel Gunter and Kadheerja Rifki explained that they had chosen to donate to Safe + Sound, the Derby charity which protects children and young people from exploitation, which received from sixth formers a generous supply of toys and hygiene products.
Samuel said: “We wanted to donate to them to help people that do suffer in silence and help them in the best way we can without being too intrusive.
“They were happy because most people around our age go to them for help.”
Kadheerja added: “They were really grateful, it was good to know that things you won’t use any more can help someone else.”
Safe + Sound CEO Tracy Harrison said school students had been “amazing” in their generous gesture.
She said: “They were amazing. They contacted us to see what would benefit our young people and then they delivered a great variety of treats, toiletries and crafty things.
“Young people prepared to help other young people in difficult situations – that’s awesome.”
The huge charity drive amongst year 12s at Derby Cathedral School formed part of their application for the Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award, a national character and leadership education programme for UK schools run by the Archbishop of York’s Youth Trust.
Students have also organised a Christmas Fair for the whole school which raised more than £2,000 for charity.
Rae Whitehouse, personal development lead at Derby Cathedral School sixth form, said students had been very impressive in the way they collaborated and achieved such a significant amount of donations.
She said: “The Archbishop Young Leaders Award is a great way of supporting students to do something positive for the wider community, have fun doing it and make other people happy.
“I think they have done brilliantly to gather together all these donations. To collect everything they did showed a lot of determination, which was very impressive.”
Dr Sarah Clark, CEO of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust, said: “It’s great to see sixth formers at Derby Cathedral School go to such lengths to benefit many charities in our city. We are very proud of these teenagers who are thinking of people other than themselves. Allowing young people to develop in many ways – and not just academically – is very important to us as a trust. Taking part in the Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award is just one of the ways we are doing that.”
This story was written and shared on behalf of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust by Lucy Stephens. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
