A Leeds charity is celebrating after being inundated with a mountain of food as a result of generous donations from primary schools across the city.
Three primary schools in South Leeds – Middleton, Westwood and Windmill – supported the city-wide appeal to collect food at Harvest Festival for Leeds Children’s Charity, which helps brighten the lives of young people who are from backgrounds of challenge and disadvantaged living in the Leeds area.
The charity has received thousands of tins and jars of food following the response from 19 primary schools across the city to the charity’s Harvest Festival Appeal. The Leeds Rotary Club kindly collected boxes of donations and transported them to the Leeds office.
The food items will provide a vital supplement to the catering requirements at Silverdale, the charity’s purpose-built centre overlooking Morecambe Bay which each year provides hundreds of children from across Leeds with a respite break from the extreme pressures they face in their daily lives.
For 2016, the 111-year old charity is gearing up to provide more than 500 youngsters aged between 7 and 11 with happy memories and the health and well-being benefits that a week away provides.
Dave Norman MBE, the Director of the charity said:
“On behalf of the charity I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the schools who donated all or part of their harvest festival goods to us. I would also like to say thank you to the Rotary Club of Leeds for their wonderful help and support. The response has been absolutely fantastic. The work of the charity focuses on working with and supporting young people who are in real need. The donations mean we can replenish a significant proportion of our food store in readiness for the start of the 2016 season which we hope will see our first group of youngsters visiting in early Spring.”
Leeds Children’s Charity relies entirely on donations from the public, trusts and businesses, and has an annual target of £350,000. Anybody interested in making a donation or in supporting the charity can get in touch with Dave at dave@leedschildrenscharity.org.uk.