Autumn 2024 Half Term Charities Update
It’s been a busy and fun first half of term for our charities and volunteering led by our amazing Reps who gave a brilliant assembly sharing all their activities and why helping others is so important.
The Log Cabin
On Friday 27th September, in support of the Log Cabin charity and Ealing Half Marathon, the school dressed up in sportswear for the day. Two days later five members of staff (Mr Gallagher, Mr Lawrence, Mrs Goodall, Mrs Bennett and Mrs Johnson) alongside five parents completed the half marathon around the streets of Ealing. The team were very grateful for the fantastic support and staff thanked students for their enthusiastic cheering, especially over the last few miles when energy was running low. Your support enabled several of the team to achieve a half marathon PB!
Mr Gallagher said, “The race was such a fun but tiring day. It was great seeing all the supporters out there. I couldn’t see too many people in the crowd but it always gave me a boost when people shouted out ‘Mr G’. I got a PB with my time even with the course being somewhat hilly, so I am very pleased with that. I guess I must keep training and start preparing for next year’s half marathon.”
Mrs Goodall said, “Thank you so much to all the NHEHS girls who came out to support – it made such a difference to my motivation to have encouragement from so many friendly faces. A special shout out to Alex D for making an encouraging poster which said ‘Run!’ in Latin and ‘as quickly as possible’ in Ancient Greek!! I managed to beat my goal so I’m feeling proud, and really pleased that we were supporting the Log Cabin, a charity which is very dear to the hearts of my husband’s family.”
Money is still being counted but the current total stands at £1750. All funds raised will go towards the Log Cabin’s new garden facilities to be enjoyed by the children who use the afterschool and holiday clubs. If you would like to donate, there’s still time – please see our Just Giving page.
Ealing Foodbank
A big thank you to everyone who donated to our harvest collection for St Mellitus, Hanwell (Ealing Foodbank), at the beginning of the month, which each form group presented in beautiful hampers. The Foodbank emailed to say: “Thank you for your recent donations to Ealing Foodbank. You donated 850kg of food and toiletries. The food and essentials that you donated go directly to those experiencing hardship.”
The following form groups won in the following categories: Most amount of food was won by 7E and best presented hamper was won by 8S1
On Tuesday 8th November, one of the enrichment volunteering groups visited Ealing Foodbank warehouse in Hanwell. Students were shown where their donations were stored and the foods a visitor to the Foodbank would receive. The group carried out a shopping task where they had to go around the warehouse collecting food to feed a family for three days. They had to share with each other their menus. There was some interesting meal planning. The next task involved drawing up a budget on Universal Credit. Students were surprised how little an adult receives and how far it has to be stretched across a variety of living expenses. As a result of this, Ealing foodbank generally helps around 800 people per week. They are always in need of rice and milk alternatives and donations can be taken to the Hanwell warehouse on Wednesdays or dropped in the boxes in local supermarkets.
Sanitation 4 Sisters
We also donated a great number of period products that will all go to the charity Sanitation 4 Sisters. This charity helps tackle the vital issue of period poverty by working towards making sure that women, especially in our local area, have access to period products without the worry of affordability. The collection is being sent to our partner The Marylebone Project, a charity that helps homeless women in the UK, and items are being distributed in their centre. A big thank you to everyone who donated, these products will make such an important difference to the lives of many women. Thank you so much for your generosity.
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UNICEF – Year 11 Charity
This term, our hardworking Year 11 students organised a series of exciting events to raise money for UNICEF, supporting children in the Middle East. The students showed incredible dedication and creativity in their efforts, hosting two highly successful bake sales – one of which embraced the Halloween spirit with themed treats.
In addition to the bake sales, they also ran a fun-filled ‘Duck Hunt’ game that brought smiles to many faces, as well as a spectacular ‘Dress to Impress’ fashion show, where teachers got involved, showcasing their unique styles to support a great cause!
Thanks to the collective efforts of Year 11 and the generosity of the school community, they were able to raise an impressive amount for UNICEF. We are immensely proud of their hard work and the impact their fundraising will have on children in need.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
This year staff and Sixth Form held Macmillan bake sales. An array of cakes were enjoyed in both the sixth form centre as well as the staff room. Over £150 was raised for the work of Macmillan which seeks to support and provide services for people living with cancer.
Amnesty Dress Up Day
Our Amnesty Reps organised a fun Halloween dress up day earlier this week and all money raised will go towards Amnesty’s work in Sudan.
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Care 4 Calais
We continue to support the children looked after by Care 4 Calais and a group of volunteers travelled to Hayes earlier this week to lead craft and games activities with the children.
Ealing Winter Night Shelter
We have recently started helping Ealing Winter Night Shelter (EWNS) – a charity who provide homeless individuals with food and a night’s sleep during the winter months in local churches. We now have three cooking dates arranged where some of our students/families are cooking a meal for the 14 residents which can be reheated at the shelter. After half term we are also hoping to carry out some fundraising for the charity. We still have a couple of spaces on the rota for the December dates. Please contact Mrs Johnson if you would like to get involved.
Caring Choir
This term the caring choir visited a new residential setting. Alongside Chestnut Lodge, St David’s and Downhurst we are hoping to regularly visit Heron House sheltered accommodation on a nearby housing estate. Heron House provides accommodation for retired members of the community, who are supported by a warden. The choir enjoyed visiting a new residential setting and hope to go there again soon.
Heron House staff also contacted us to thank students again for their hard work on volunteering day. Some students carried out weeding and planted gladioli bulbs which are not blooming and looking beautiful. The residents of Heron House are continuing to enjoy looking at the garden. Heron House are hoping that further volunteers will help with the garden next year.
Some of the older people who live in care homes have dementia and really appreciate being able to sing with the choir. Lily in Year 10 said, “For enrichment lessons, we are in a choir made up of Year 10s and 11s and we go to different care homes every week, to sing to older people, some with Alzheimer’s. The experience is extremely heartwarming and enjoyable, as we get to sing songs for those there, and see the moments of recognition as well as joy when they realise what songs we’re singing. It is so nice to see how both just a simple song jogs their memories of when they were younger, and how they start to sing the lyrics, even though some people hardly spoke before. So many people suffer from Alzheimer’s and it’s amazing how something as simple as a song can help them reconnect with their past.”
Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
