Charities & Volunteering Newsletter Feb 2023

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CHARITIES & VOLUNTEERING

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 • I S S U E 3 •

Hi, I’m Harinee and I’m one of your year 12 charity reps I decided to put myself forward to become a charity rep because I think it s really important to give back to our community and raise awareness for causes that might not be getting the attention that they need Attending Amnesty Club every week, I learn about various conflicts going on around the world and I hope to use my role as charity rep to encourage people to do small things, as simple as signing a petition, to help those affected When possible I also visit a care home to speak to residents and help the carers in any way possible In the past I have helped orchestrate several charity events but the most successful ones are the ones where teachers demonstrate their charitable nature, be it through karaoke or dodgeball, so as a charity rep I would love to organise more of these events because they generate lots of donations and encourage both students and staff to be more charitable!

Hi, my name ’ s Abbi and I’m one of your Year 12 charity reps! I applied for this role because I think it’s the perfect opportunity to be more involved in charity work within the school and encourage others to do the same I also think it s vital to learn the importance of charity and recognise how we can help less fortunate people Currently I coach cricket to younger students every other weekend, I volunteer as a ward helper every week at West Middlesex Hospital and read with Year 6 students at North Ealing Primary School to help them practise and develop their literacy skills every week Being in a hospital environment has been especially interesting as I get to interact with patients as well as observe how hospital staff work and the significance of roles that are seemingly small These experiences are extremely eye-opening and rewarding I believe that the impact we can make by volunteering is really important and what may seem like just a few hours a week to us is extremely vital to the people on the receiving end

Hi, my name is Rithi I was a Year 10 charity rep two years ago, and I think my experience being one played a huge role in why I decided to become one again I had tons of fun helping organise charity events counting all the money we would raise (which was a LOT) and going on walks for charity I hope that by being a Year 12 charity rep I’ll be able to help more people get involved in our charity initiatives, and hopefully inspire some of you to take on more active roles in raising the charity profile of our school Recently, I volunteered at the BUDS programme that is run by Mr Henderson where I had the opportunity to talk to many students from local primary schools and make magical ‘potions’ with them Seeing their eyes light up with understanding after I told them why oil floats on top of water, was an amazing feeling But all in all, I’m super excited to be part of the charity team!

Hi, I'm Bella and I am one of your year 12 charity reps! I was interested in becoming a charity rep because I think it is really important to help people in need and to encourage others to do the same I have always been involved in charities within the school; including being part of the team organising an Ealing Mencap Christmas Fair and organising books and the Children's Book Project I currently volunteer at North Ealing Primary School where I enjoy helping the children with their reading As I have really enjoyed this, I signed up for Mr Henderson's BUDS initiative in which I help year 5 pupils create artwork using collage and painting I find it extremely rewarding to see the children having fun while also learning new skills This year as a charity rep I am keen to think of fun new ideas to raise money for charity

Hi I m Isie and I m a year 12 charity rep I wanted to be a charity rep because I was also a year 10 charity rep - this experience taught me that it’s important to get involved with charity and volunteering both in school and outside of school, and now I want to encourage others to also be a part of this! With the other fellow charity reps I am also a part of Mr Henderson s BUDs programme in school which I find really enriching and I love spending time and helping the kids that come in with fun activities I have also enjoyed doing events to raise money for charity such walking a marathon in a day around Central london with my friend for the Marie Curie charity, and being on the team for organising an Ealing Mencap Christmas Fair, where we set up a range of stalls such as decorating baubles As a charity rep I want to continue thinking up new ideas to raise money for charity in an exciting way and hopefully encourage people to have the fulfilling experience of taking part in a few upcoming events or even long term volunteering opportunities this year

MEET THE YEAR 12 CHARITY REPS

VOLUNTEERING

PEACEFUL SOLUTIONS CHARITY

Recently, I have been using my Tuesday enrichment sessions to complete my DofE volunteering With this, I have been volunteering every week at the charity Peaceful Solutions. Peaceful Solutions is a mediation service in London looking to help peacefully resolve issues on a local, family and community level, no matter the cause They aim to stop the cost of finance and personal well being to improve community relations without conflict In my volunteering there I have been working in the back of the shop helping sort through donations, pricing items and helping with sales and donation logging I have found this a fun and enriching experience, as I have gotten to know many new people and volunteers, and have got to give back to my community I would definitely recommend that you volunteer if you can it's a great experience and you can give back to the community through it!

WEST MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL

I volunteer at West Middlesex Hospital as a ward helper In this role, I help the catering staff during mealtimes and have a chance to interact with patients This is incredibly rewarding as I’m able to provide some comfort to patients as well as ease the stress of the hospital staff in such a highpressure environment It’s also a really good opportunity to gain experience of how a hospital is run and organised!

Volunteering at West Middlesex Hospital is always the highlight of my weekend and is a heartwarming experience which I recommend to anyone regardless of whether they are considering studying Medicine Each shift is three hours long and whilst this seems like a very long time it is a rewarding opportunity and break from school work We help give patients their meals and talk to them around mealtimes if they are feeling lonely as well as making teas coffees and hot chocolates for them There is never a boring shift and you get to meet such interesting patients who can discuss a myriad of things with you ranging from a career in repairing steam engines to the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night If you are considering medicine, it is also a great opportunity to see if you can imagine yourself working in a hospital environment in the future In general, it also helps to improve key communication skills and learning how to handle difficult situations when dealing with patients If you are keen on volunteering there is more information on the West Middlesex Hospital website and Chelsea and Westminster hospital also offers the same opportunity

VOLUNTEERING

LITTER PICKINGLARGERCANEALING

Litter picking has become a fun use of my friend and my time We can save the environment and have fun Mornings are a great time to go because no one else has picked up rubbish yet and parks are usually empty Good places to go are public areas like parks, car parks and main streets; be safe of course Litter picking is also a great choice for DofE volunteering. Bags fill up quickly and you can do it with your friends!

A top tip is to get foldable litter pickers that you can purchase on amazon - only £7 These allow you to fold them and carry in a bag rather than walking around with it Bags can be purchased through LAGERcan, the litter picking group for the Ealing borough. There is a Facebook group and Instagram page (@lagercanealing)

FAIRTRADE AWARDS

Following on from the success of the school achieving the Fairaware Fairtrade award, a Tuesday afternoon enrichment group will now be working towards achieving the next of the Fairtrade awards, the ‘Fairactive award’

Look out for the events that will be held to raise awareness and money for the Fairtrade Foundation in March

The group are currently working on presentations to share with our partner school ‘Academy of Notre Dame de Namur’ in Pennsylvania via Google meet after half term.

YEAR 9 CHARITY EVENTS

This half term, it was the Year 9's opportunity to raise funds for a chose both Unicef which is supporting child refugees in Palesti that provides personalised support to those living with brain tum

Bake Sale

We had a very successful bake sale to start off our charity fundraising, selling a variety of yummy goodies that Year 9's had made It was a huge success, with us selling out before the end of break time

Year 9 Fair

We had a variety of stalls at the Year 9 fair from selling cotton candy sweets and other yummy treats, to playing games and selling Beanie Babies. Year 7 & 8's were our main supporters, who purchased things from the various stalls

Beanie Babies Sale

The Beanie Babies event was a huge success, with students and staff placing their orders via a google form and having them delivered to their friends (or themselves)

6TH FORM PANTO MENINGITIS NOW

Year oughout the year for Meningitis

Now, people about the signs and symp

On F and staff pu produ d over £800 Th and d th many differe fun c

A won ong!

ECO WEEK

To begin our first ever 7R’s week, we held an assembly to spread awareness about food waste, the carbon footprint of your diet and some of the new initiatives we are planning as a school This includes our new form plants scheme where people get the chance to look after their own snake plant and also brighten up the classroom Throughout the week we held multiple events to encourage people to look after their new plants and follow the 7Rs

We began with a bakesale where eco-reps through the years came together to bake things that either used up food in their kitchen or were decorated to support the environment There were some creatively decorated cupcakes and biscuits, and some delicious brownies On Thursday we created watering cans for our new snake plants made out of reused milk bottles This resulted in some inspired designs from all of the Year 10 forms and some new accessories for the plants Our final event was a green own clothes day, where students could wear either green clothes or second hand clothes This was a very successful event where everyone was inspired to buy more secondhand clothing after speaking to everyone

Overall, we raised enough money throughout the week to adopt an animal from WWF We sent out a student vote and will be adopting a penguin and also donating to the WWF climate recovery fund The fund works to restore the polar regions and the Amazon Rain Forest, some of the areas that have been damaged the most by climate change

-Ellie and Maya, Year 10 Eco Reps

GALENTINES DAY FUNDRAISER

Bella and Isie spearheaded the Galentines Day fundraiser for the 6th from charity, Meningitis Now, by selling roses for Galentines Day

Students from Y7-13 and members of staff purchased roses to be delivered to another member of the NHEHS community to show their appreciation

Thank you to everyone who supported our very first NHEHS Galentine’s event this week There were many delighted recipients, with over a 100 roses being ordered and over £150 was raised!

WINTER COLLECTION FOR SERVING OUR SUPERHEROES

Thank you to everyone for your generous contributions towards Serving our Superheroes We handed over 25 bags of winter clothing and bedding The charity was set up at the beginning of Covid to help prevent the cross-contamination of Covid-19 by providing laundry bags to the NHS and other front line care workers It has now expanded to help many people in need of help in the local area Eg Our Superheroes provides washbags with toiletries to the NHS, homeless, refugees and victims of domestic violence

They provide dementia aids emotion dolls to schools, baby clothes, hats and blankets and toiletries for babies, children s clothes and school uniforms and sanitary items As well as clothes sleeping bags, shoes, and snacks to the homeless We work with many other charities including the London Community Kitchen, Ealing Community Aid and Dress a girl to support those in need.

Thank you to the enrichment group who sorted through the donated items bagging and labelled them ready to be delivered Serving our Superheroes were thrilled with all your generous donations and have passed on their thanks

JUNIOR SCHOOL TOY COLLECTION FOR SERVING OUR SUPERHEROES

On Wednesday 8th February the Junior school also supported the work of Serving our Superheroes

After an assembly which was attended by a local representative for the charity the reception to Year 6 students were encouraged to bring in a toy These toys will be shared with other children in the Ealing area who do not have many of their own to play with

The Junior school were very generous in their contributions sharing a variety of toys that will be enjoyed by other children of the same age Thank you to everyone who contributed to this collection to support such a worthy charity

CARE SQUARES PROJECT

“Knitter and Natter” is a knitting and crochet club held every Tuesday after school. We have previously made blue and yellow sunflowers to sell to support Ukraine, but this year we have been making blankets for the homeless It's been a mammoth task, needing everyone to get involved, but it has been worth it to see the amazing blankets! We have made 2 completed blankets, 4 blankets that just need some finishing touches, and over 35 squares that need attaching

A special shoutout to Mrs Dun's neighbour who has made enough squares for at least 2 blankets and Miss Newman's mum who made 100 squares all the way from South Africa! While we still have more squares coming in, and even more blankets that need borders and ends that need to be weaved in, we have a top notch team made of Mrs Duns, Mrs Broekmann, sixth formers, me and my Year 7 friends Polly and Petra There's still a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we will be able to get out at least 8 blankets out to Ealing Soup kitchen and the 240 Project and help the homeless this winter

FROM THE ARCHIVES

1963

In 1963 the Charity Society Committee collected over £110 (about £1,938 today) in collection boxes alone! In May, Miss King-Davies and Miss McLeod took a party of girls to the Annual U G S Service at Southwark Cathedral where Emma Newton presented a contribution The Harvest Festival was held on September 29th and the platform was just full of a variety of gifts of every description The little girls from Redlands brought the most generous gifts after prayers Additionally, the girls in Form II Lower A, worked hard for War on Want, World-Wide Helpers' Club, and raised a total of £112 (£1,973 24 today) and the result of the three Flag days was £2 327! (today s value)

We clearly have a lot to learn from the 1963 charity committee!

IN OTHER NEWS...

As a school we are so proud of how the whole school community is involved in both fundraising and volunteering activities We have recently entered for ‘The Goldsmith’s company Award for Community Engagement’.

Watch this space to see whether you make it through to the second round.

WAYS TO HELP

EALING FOOD BANK

The Ealing Food Bank is a charity to assist those in need in the borough Do your part by donating any of the below items on their February food list

GIRLS GUIDING

By volunteering with Girl Guiding, you can help girls build their confidence, learn new skills and have loads of fun – all while benefiting from the adventure and opportunities guiding has to offer This is perfect for those who are under 16 as you can volunteer with them from age 13 upwards You become an inspiring role model for the girl guiding members and help empower girls to be their best whilst helping them learn new skills and broaden their creativity You can volunteer at Rainbows, Brownies or Guides (each a different age group)

THE POWER OF NUTRITION CHARITY

I have been raising money for The Power Of Nutrition, they work to help fight malnutrition in Africa and Asia Malnutrition is an incredibly prominent issue from which is the underlying cause of 45 percent of all child deaths globally It's very important to support and help those in countries where it is harder to have access to food with proper nutritional value

I plan to organise some fundraising events later on in the term to help raise money and awareness for the charity

Check out their Register Your Interest page for more information about how to get involved or contact infoteam@girlguiding org uk I hope this inspires you to sign up as a leader with Girl Guides as it is a great opportunity to teach other young girls and be able to interact with them in different ways

THE FURSA TRUST

This is a charity which is dedicated to helping children who live in the slums of Nairobi,Kenya Due to the difficulties these children face,whether that be in a lack of role models or encouragement, many primary students dropout of school or are unable to continue their education to a level that we would assume as essential Fursa Trust helps create an environment of learning and joy

This charity is working towards a goal close to me because my dad grew up in Kenya and I have personally seen and heard of the struggle that these children face in their everyday life and how they need support to help them achieve a brighter future

Do you have any stories of charity work you have done recently?

Do you have ideas of what you would like us to do as a school?

If so please let your charity reps know: Abbi, Harinee, Rithi, Bella & Isie or Mrs Johnson, Miss Newman and Miss Gamberini

We’d love to share your stories and help you with your ideas!

Thank you for your continued support in all of our charity endeavours!

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