Year 5 Young Leaders at Witton Church Walk Church of England Nursery and Primary School decided they wanted to raise awareness of asylum seekers and homeless people in their local area.

 When researching local charities, the children came across the story of The Share Shop. This charity supports the homeless and asylum seekers who have moved to the area. The Young leaders were particularly interested in the needs of the children who were seeking asylum and were moved by the stories they heard about the children leaving their homes because they no longer felt safe. In response, the Young Leaders decided together that they wanted to host a Share Shop coffee morning in the school hall, create hampers of toiletries and a giving tree. After deciding on how they would raise awareness and fundraise, they met with the head teacher and presented their ideas. They contacted the local chair of the charity, invited a representative to attend the school and spoke regularly to the organisation, keeping them updated about their plans for fundraising.

The Young Leaders delivered several assemblies in school about the work of the Share Shop, raising awareness for asylum seekers and the homeless. They planned the presentations thinking carefully about their audience and the message they wanted to get across to the other children in school.

 “I think I have got better at speaking in front of lots of people. At first I was nervous but I knew that I was with my other team members and stepped out of my comfort zone.” Year5 Young Leader

At the end of the assemblies, the Young Leaders set the children a challenge to create bunting which shared their message and supported The Share Shop. The Young Leaders also asked for donations of cakes and toiletries- driving their idea to be a whole community effort. Leading up to their final event, they sent reminders via school email and posted on social media to ensure the donations came into school.

 “Through their campaigning, it encouraged businesses in the local area to show their support. The leaders commented that they wouldn’t have been able to do it without the charitable donations of the families of our school so posted a thank you message to the local community on social media. They also visited each class and left a thank you card for the children encouraging them to think of how they could be the change personally or as a class.” AYLA Teacher

 The Young Leaders set up and hosted their coffee morning – where they sold cakes and refreshments,  inviting the school, church and local community to attend. In addition to this, they created their own giving tree, a replica to the one they saw in The Share Shop. The idea behind the tree is the leaves can be purchased for  monetary donations and placed on the tree. These leaves can then be taken by people in need and exchanged for toiletries or other essential items at The Share Shop.

Finally, the Young Leaders created hampers using all the donated toiletries they had collected with the help of the school community and presented them to The Share Shop during their visit.

 “I think everyone should do this award because you learn lots of leadership skills you can use in other ways not just in Young Leaders club.”    Year 5 Young Leader