College aims to increase target

The response to our Christmas Hamper Appeal is always pleasing and this year is no exception.

Generous readers of the Express step in every year to ensure that the appeal is a resounding success.

Now, Wakefield College’s care, early years and counselling department has been in touch with the organisers, pledging to support the appeal again. Last year, they collected and made up more than 40 hampers - but this year the team has set itself a target of making up 50 complete hampers.

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Hayley Anderson, curriculum development manager, said: “We are very happy to be able help the charity again this year. The students are very hands on, collecting and donating the food as well as making up the hampers and decorating the hamper boxes. It astounds us every year that the students donate such enormous amounts of food and make the hampers look nice for the recipients. This activity brings the whole of our students together to work as a team, a skill very valuable to their future employment.”

The Christmas Hamper Appeal, organised by The Rotary Club of Wakefield Chantry and the Community Awareness Programme (CAP), and supported by the Wakefield Express, aims to help more than 1,000 local families over the festive season. Amassing enough food and packing for 1,000 hampers is a huge undertaking, but organisers have managed to achieve it for the past two years.. With the help of local businesses, Express readers and a large number of volunteers we are aiming to do the same this year.

Donations of food, finished hampers or money are all very welcome to help the appeal along. Please remember not to include any fresh items or alcohol.

The hampers can contain almost any dried foods but particularly tea or coffee, cereals, tinned vegetables and fruit, stuffing and gravy mix, as well as long life items such as UHT milk and fruit juice. They also need jam and marmalade, pasta and rice, meat pastes and tinned meat, plus biscuits and other Christmas themed foods and confectionary.

The deadline for food donations is November 30 and the final date for completed hampers is December 4. Donations should be dropped off at CAP on Market Street. Call 01924 381119 for more information.