LVS Oxford Boxes Clever this Christmas for Shipton Hub Food Bank

-School’s donation boosts community’s Reverse Advent Calendar Appeal –

Our students have donated food and toys to make sure that over fifty local families will have a Christmas to remember this year.

The children donated hundreds of items to Shipton Hub’s Reverse Advent Calendar Appeal, to be put into gift boxes, each containing 25 goodies, such as food, toys and clothes to be given to a family in need this Christmas.

Shipton Hub started at the beginning of lockdown and now works almost exclusively on tackling food poverty in the local area. The Reverse Advent Calendar Appeal is designed to support families over the Christmas period. Volunteer donors are matched with each family and then tailor a box to that families’ needs.

Year 7 students show their Reverse Advent Calendars

LVS Oxford’s Year 7 tutor, Amanda Porter said; “The appeal was more successful than we could ever have imagined and we arrived at the Shipton Hub with two cars full to the brim with Christmas goodies!”

Brenda Gratwicke, of Shipton Hub, commented, “It was a miracle, we received an email from LVS Oxford just as we realised that we had a slight shortfall in donors and may not be able to help all the families we had pledged to support. LVS Oxford’s generosity and scale of giving was off the charts.

“With their help, and all the toys, books and gifts they donated, we were able to fill more boxes than anticipated and extend our outreach.

“We would like to thank all the students, their families and staff of LVS Oxford for their empathy, thought and amazing generosity. They embody the spirit of Christmas and our hope for a more caring world.”

Rev Oliver Petter, from The Benefice Of Yarnton With Begbroke And Shipton-On-Cherwell, who put the School in touch with the Project, added; “Having spoken to the organisers of Shipton Hub, I know they are absolutely delighted and thrilled with LVS Oxford’s donation. The 54 families the Hub is working with will now have wonderful Christmas boxes and there will be an overflow to some of the other local projects that are linked in. This will be a huge encouragement to the families in this stark year.

“Thank you to LVS Oxford for donating to a very local, ground level response to the pandemic, that is growing and helping families across Oxford in collaboration with other networks. The generosity, care and dynamism of the School in collecting such gifts is so greatly appreciated and hugely uplifting.”

To join us and get involved with Shipton Hub’s initiatives, get in contact.