Throughout the Winter Gift campaign, BRGS will support the most vulnerable members of our community and focus on two themes: spreading kindness and tackling food poverty.
We will be spreading kindness by collecting for the Rossendale Gift Box Programme, asking for gifts and toys so that hampers can be put together for local families. The Rossendale Gift Box Programme is a local community group that have helped out families for the past 4 years. The programme works on a referral system from other community organisations and schools.
BRGS Sixth formers will also be taking part in a ‘Party on Tour’ scheme to visit a local care home to provide Christmas gifts and entertainment.
To help tackle food poverty, BRGS will be working with the RAFT Foundation foodbank to help families across the Rossendale Valley who are less fortunate than ourselves. The school will be asking for donations, from our students and parents, of food, toiletries, and other goods to make that genuine difference. The RAFT Foundation is an independent foodbank, formed in 2012, to serve and support the Rossendale community. They are a volunteer led and run community foodbank, delivering 1500 meals each week on average, aimed at reducing the pressures individuals and families face when they find themselves experiencing financial difficulties. During 2022, they delivered 66,066 meals to 3,146 people across Rossendale, along with 211 lots of nappies and pull ups; this was their busiest year to date. Unfortunately, during 2023, the RAFT Foundation has seen a reduction in the overall level of donations coming into the foodbank coupled with a gradual increase in demand; requests for food parcels has increased by 47% over the last few months compared to the same period last year.