Our Lady’s Catholic College Advent Fundraising

In November, a record number of 32 sixth formers and 7 staff spent a cold and wet night sleeping out in the school’s entrance courtyard in solidarity with those who are homeless and in support of LDHAS.

Over the course of the evening, we had a talk and Q&A session with Phil Moore, manager of LDHAS, which was fascinating and gave us some great ideas about how we can help locally. We also made Christmas cards to give out with the LDHAS care packs we collected later on in the term.

It was a testing but wonderful experience for all involved, especially as we bedded down on the unforgiving hard floor, but the students maintained a positive outlook until the end and their incredible fundraising efforts saw them raise over £1707.50 for LDHAS, which will make a huge difference to their work, especially as the demand for services increases over the winter months.

As a whole school, we collected items to make “Care Packs” for those experiencing homelessness, which were given out over the Christmas period by LDHAS. These contained a collection of essentials, some treats, and a handmade Christmas card from the pupils at Our Lady’s, all in a useful carry-around bag. Altogether, we managed to make over 50 care packs, with three big boxes full of extra donations that wouldn’t fit in the packs too!

Finally, on the last day of term, Mr. Teasdale (our new Head of Learning Support) had his head shaved by Mrs. Hartley (our outgoing Assistant Headteacher) in aid of our LDHAS campaign, adding a further £1067 to our total, meaning we raised £2774.50 altogether, which is absolutely amazing! Thank you to everyone who donated and supported the appeal in any way, we and LDHAS really appreciate everything and it will make a huge difference to so many people in the Lancaster and district area.