After a week of gathering hats, gloves, scarves, winter clothing and sleeping bags, we had a pile of donations fit for purpose. The buckets were overflowing.

With the aid of our RE scholars and extra volunteers, we set about packing all our donations into a minibus provided for us by Reading and Wokingham Coach company. The students did an excellent job sorting, carrying and packing the bus.

 

After a short ride to Newbold College Church we were met by Victor Barendse who was incredibly grateful for our efforts. He proceeded to help us take the donations inside and then spoke to our students about the important work the church does over the Christmas period to administer necessities to the homeless.

This includes opening up the church as a warm place to spend the night as well as providing showers and washing facilities. They also have a voluntary doctor and hairdresser on standby to help. Victor proceeded to show the students where the people would sleep which helped the students understand some of the struggles that homeless people go through on a daily basis. This may have meant sleeping by a wall for protection or access to plug socket! Or making a bed out of the chairs so they did not have to sleep on a camp bed or the floor.

The students were asked to reflect on this trip on the way back to school and here are some of the comments they made:

“I wanted to take part in this trip because it is doing more than just donating, it is learning and trying to understand these people’s situation….. I have gained a deeper understanding of homelessness and how they live. I think it is really great how there are so many charities helping – it is really inspiring” Rosie (Year 7)

“It’s fun and informative, you learn lots about homeless people and how volunteers get involved” Euan (Year 7)

“We gathered hats, gloves, clothes and other items to keep the homeless warm. We delivered the items to Newbold Church where we met Victor….. It was eye opening experience to see how much support is offered to the homeless through the church.” (Year 11 student)

I would like to thank all the parents, staff and students who contributed to these donations and helped show the community how important Piggott believes these outreaches are.

Hopefully this will be the beginning of many more trips like this.

Miss Marris

Teacher of RE

Lead Coordinator for SIAMS and SMSC