Christmas is expensive even when things are going well. For families already stretched — managing debt, relying on benefits, or navigating redundancy — the festive season adds pressure that doesn’t go away on its own.
St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School in the local area ran a Christmas charity initiative to help families in exactly that position, collecting gifts and essentials to distribute to those who needed them most. When the school put the call out, we contributed.
The context behind it
Child poverty in West Yorkshire is not a fringe issue. According to End Child Poverty, a significant proportion of children across the Leeds and Wakefield districts are growing up in households classed as low income after housing costs — in some wards, that figure exceeds 40%. Primary schools sit directly in the path of that reality. Teachers and staff see it every day, and initiatives like St Benedict’s Christmas drive are one of the ways schools try to bridge the gap where other support doesn’t reach.
The school has a clear commitment to community well-being that extends beyond the classroom. A fundraising drive of this kind takes real coordination — sourcing, sorting, communicating with families discreetly. It’s not a small undertaking for a school team already stretched across their core responsibilities.
Why we got involved
We operate across West Yorkshire. The communities where our projects run are the same communities these schools serve, and that connection matters to us. Supporting a local school’s Christmas initiative is a straightforward way to put something back into an area we work in.
If you’re a local business looking to support similar initiatives, St Benedict’s is worth getting in touch with directly. Schools running community drives like this one rarely have too many people offering to help.