Education: Halifax students help feed people in need this Christmas

Students and staff from The Halifax Academy collected non-perishable food items including tinned meat and vegetables, rice, pasta, tea and coffee, as well as toiletries and festive treats.

The donations were then sorted into hampers, delivered by Year 11 students to CTC The Gathering Place and Happy Days in Halifax.

David Horsfall, Senior Head of House and donations co-ordinator at the school, said: “I am always blown away by the kindness of our students and families who are always so generous when we ask for their help in supporting different charities, despite some of them being under financial pressure themselves.

"We are unfortunately living in difficult times, with more and more families getting pushed into financial difficulty and more people needing not only financial but emotional support.

"We encourage our young people to show kindness and to build positive relationships with other people, engaging with their local community and developing an understanding of the world around them.”

The Halifax Academy’s Community Connections project works with a number of organisations throughout the year to support people in Calderdale - including CTC The Gathering Place, The Outback, St Augustine’s Centre, Calderdale Lighthouse, Halifax Community Fridge, ReThink Food and Suma Wholefoods – to provide meals and clothing as well as other services to local families.

The volunteers at the school’s community kitchen cook all year round to make hundreds of hot meals for members of the community every week.