Pupils and staff off their trolleys (From Leigh Journal)

Lowton school shows compassion

9:00am Sunday 29th January 2012 in News

BIG-HEARTED pupils and staff at Lowton CE High School have proved that when it comes to a worthy cause, they really are off their trolleys!

Shopping trolleys to be precise and they’ve managed to fill quite a few of them with thousands of items that have been used to help people in need.

Last mont the whole school collected tins and dried food on behalf of local charity Compassion in Action.

And Lowton certainly didn’t disappoint because staff and pupils gathered a mammoth 2,000 items through a winning combination of hard work and ingenious ideas.

Form 11E1 was the first among equals by collecting the most. Ably assisted by Head Girl Sophie Stradins, the team wrote to their neighbourhood branches of Asda and Sainsbury’s asking for help. In return they managed to garner almost 400 items from the generous supermarkets.

Individual honours went to student Hannah Odberg who notched up 100 tins on her own, whilst pupil Emily Wall donated £13, which staff used to buy tins and packets of food.

Through Compassion in Action, the collected items were used to support individuals and families over the festive period.

Compassion in Action founder, Pam Gilligan explains: “There are a number of situations that can bring hardship to people, from unemployment, family breakdown, to illness or bereavement. Compassion in Action try to help people whose means of supporting themselves has become limited and they don’t have enough food to eat.

“The response to the collection was amazing and it reflects the ethos of Lowton Church of England High School which encourages being supportive of others and the community. It certainly helped us to help people who were in need the Christmas.”

The charity challenge was part of a larger inter-school fundraising drive that so far this year has netted an impressive £5,000.

Lowton Church of England High Headteacher John Shanahan says: “We are so proud of all the students and staff who contributed to this most worthy of causes. They showed a real commitment to helping those in our community who are in need. When a whole community comes together, like Lowton Church of England High School has done, amazing things can be achieved!”