Sennockian 2017-2018 | Page 68

THE Big Sleep Out C harit y Action Group delivered to the three organisations at the start of the Christmas holiday. The generosity of students and parents was overwhelming and, among many other items, we collected 110kg of pasta, 104 packets of cereal, 600 tins of soup, 139 hats, 41 blankets and 60 toothbrushes, items which were all appreciated. Above: The Christmas food collection Right: Sponge the Teachers at Lower School Charity Week 62 This year we selected two charities to assist: Mind and Refugee Action, the latter run by Old Sennockian Stephen Hale (OS 1990). The group of 15 students from Year 10 to the Upper Sixth gave assemblies to explain the importance of the work of these charities, and also helped to coordinate the activities of tutor groups during Lower, Middle and Upper School Charity Weeks. In total they raised close to £15,000 to be split between the two organisations. Buoyed by the success of this initiative, at the end of the Lent term we ran a collection to support Salut Malawi, a small Tonbridge-based charity which supports teenage girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Research has shown that many girls in this region are unable to attend school once they reach puberty as they do not have access to suitable underwear or sanitary products. This is a relatively easy problem to solve and the support of our student, parent and staff body was incredible with 300 bars of soap, 120 bras and 400 pairs of pants donated for shipment to Malawi. In addition £1000 was collected to buy 340 reusable sanitary pads which will make a huge difference to the lives of many girls in Africa. A very successful innovation this year was the school- wide Christmas collection for three local charities: the Loaves and Fishes Foodbank in Sevenoaks, Helping the Homeless in Medway and Nightwatch in Croydon. During the final three weeks of the Michaelmas term we collected food, clothing and toiletries which we A final highlight was the Big Sleep Out, now in its third year. This initiative probably does more than anything else to help students consider some of the challenges facing those forced into homelessness, and almost £2000 was raised for Porchlight. Vanessa Fitzgerald SERVICE Every student aimed to raise a minimum of £20 in sponsorship for Porchlight, a Tonbridge-based charity helping homeless people in Kent and Croydon. Each £20 raised will fund a basic starter pack of food and toiletries for someone on their first night in one of Porchlight’s hostels. Charity Action Group ran its third annual Big Sleep Out, fundraising and raising awareness of the problems facing the homeless. Forty-three students in Years 10-12 and three members of staff spent one night sleeping outside on the school campus, with just sleeping bags and cardboard for protection. We were grateful that the weather this year made the Big Sleep Out pleasant, as having done it for the last two years, we know that it is not always like this. Even in these rare, warm conditions, sleeping on the ground is never a comfortable experience. It allows us, to some extent, to gain an insight into the lives of the shocking number of people who have to sleep rough on the street every night. We arrived on campus at 7pm and were given a briefing by the teachers before setting up our cardboard home for the night. After having soup around a campfire, we chatted for a while amongst ourselves and then settled down to sleep. Once you do get to sleep, you can easily be awakened by the occasional church bells, other people, and general disturbances around the school. A sleepless night has a huge impact on the next day, and concentrating in lessons the following day was a real struggle. We are very grateful to the teachers who ran the event. We can safely say that, as a result, we are less prone to take our everyday luxuries for granted. Although the Sleep Out is not a completely authentic experience (we sleep in a safe area, comforted by the knowledge that we will sleep in a warm bed the following night) it is still incredibly valuable as we raise both awareness and money to support the homeless. SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2017-2018 Rebecca Funnell and Rosalie Owen, Lower Sixth 63