Staff and students at Bishop Auckland College are supporting a North East charity which is providing Christmas hampers to needy families.
The college has agreed to be a collection point for donations from staff and students and is also allowing Feeding Families to use its sports hall to put together hampers for distribution across the region.
The Bishop Auckland based charity was launched in 2016 by NHS worker Juliet Sanders, when the first six hampers were delivered to families struggling to cover the extra expense of Christmas.
An appeal on social media the following year generated more than 200 responses, and the grandmother-of-six co-ordinated the delivery of over 700 hampers.
Feeding Families is now a regionwide operation, with 19 collection points from Ashington to Darlington. The charity’s new website enables people to both arrange to donate food parcels and apply for a hamper.
The college is collecting donations from staff and students of non-perishable food items including tinned fruit, vegetables, meat and soup, tea and coffee, Christmas pudding, custard and mince pies, as well as toiletries.
Staff and students will also be helping to pack hampers from Friday until next Monday at the college.
Natalie Davison-Terranova, Principal and Chief Executive of Bishop Auckland College, said: “This is a fantastic local charity which is working extremely hard, with the support of an army of volunteers and the extremely generous North East public, to help struggling families enjoy Christmas.
“We are very keen to support Feeding Families, helping them to distribute as many hampers as possible between now and Christmas.”
For more information about Feeding Families, including collection points, visit feedingfamilies.org.uk or email info@feedingfamilies.org.uk or find the charity on Facebook.
Photo: Debbie Richardson, Volunteer Coordinator with Feeding Families, is pictured with L3 Performing Arts student Megan Pollitt, 16, (Little Red Riding Hood) and HND Performing Arts student Will Waites, 20, (Dick Whittington).
