Urban Outreach Hamper Challenge

Students at Bolton School each year work hard to raise money and donations for Urban Outreach’s Christmas Hamper Appeal.

Aims

The charity aims to create over Christmas 1,000 hampers per year for the town’s neediest households by enlisting help from across the region. People do not ask to receive the hampers, but are nominated by organisations such as churches and community groups who will then help to hand them out just before Christmas, on December 23. The hampers contain everything needed to put on a complete Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, and even include selection boxes and crackers.

Resources

Year 12 students work in teams to encourage the School to donate items for Urban Outreach’s Christmas Hampers. They also try to secure donations or discounts from supermarket suppliers or even brands themselves: one year they received a contribution of over 600 small bottles from Coke. Students raise additional funds with which to purchase supplies through bag packing at supermarkets, cake sales, raffles, craft sales, video game challenges, and stalls at the Junior Boys’ School Christmas Fair.

Impact

Students have for several years played an important role in makine sure that Urban Outreach's Christmas Hampers are fully stocked for the Christmas season.

Past goals have included sourcing: 600 Christmas puddings and 600 packets of biscuits; 1,000 boxes of after-dinner mints and 4,000 crackers; 4,500 bags of crisps and the same number of cans of pop; 1,300 mince pies and 1,300 accompanying cartons of sauce; and 1,300 packets of stuffing and 1,000 jars of cranberry sauce.

Pupil Involvement

Approximately 20-40 Year 12 pupils are involved each year from across the Girls' and Boys' Divisions at Bolton School. These students run the Hamper Challenge project, coming up with innovative ideas to raise funds and encourage donations.

The whole of Bolton School, including Junior and Senior School pupils, are involved with making donations.

Frequency

This is an annual event that will be running for the foreseeable future.