Students at Reigate College have been taking part in a series of College-wide initiatives to support local residents and express gratitude over the festive period.
In collaboration with Age Concern, Lower Sixth students put together well over a hundred personalised Christmas gift bags to be given to local elderly residents. These were personally delivered by the Students’ Union, along with College Principal Nick Clark, at the Merstham Daycare Centre’s Christmas lunch on Friday 13th December. The Age Concern team were extremely grateful, saying, “The students from Reigate College really excelled themselves this year and produced incredible gift bags for the members and volunteers – thanks so much to Wendy [Gregory] and the team from the College for organising it so well!”
The 16-strong Students’ Union Committee also organised a series of Christmas appeals across the College in December. They collected donations of food and other necessities for local charity Loveworks, and also clothes and supplies for Wellingara Nursery School in the Gambia, the College’s link school.
Kate Curtis, Loveworks Charity Officer, came into College on Monday 16th December to collect their donations and was thrilled with the response. The items will be given out at local foodbanks to families in need over the festive period, with donations for the Gambia being sent out in time to be distributed for Christmas.
Students also took part in a series of gratitude pop-up events during the lunchtimes in the last full week of term, providing another way for them to give something back. Activities on offer included making Christmas cards and paperchains, decorating biscuits and Christmas origami for a special gratitude wall.
Principal Nick Clark said of the initiatives, “It’s been fantastic to see the College community coming together to support these charities, and to focus on gratitude at this time of year. The thought and effort that went into producing the gift bags in particular was incredibly impressive and it was lovely to see how much they were appreciated by all those who received them.”
