The Times discovers what keen pupils at the Beacon Academy and Bennett Memorial are doing…
At the end of last month, students from Bennett Memorial School decided to get in on the act of ‘running’ to Kyiv in Ukraine in order to raise vital funds to support the displaced.
Like many other local schools, Bennett Memorial organised a special event to help refugees and those still left in the Ukraine by donning their trainers and clocking up thousands of miles.
Their particular sponsored run was in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee’s humanitarian appeal and saw students and staff together cover over 4000km in total while running laps of the mixed secondary school’s site.
Groups ran different distances on the day of March 30 – some committing themselves to a 2km run, most to 4km and a good number took on the 10k challenge.
“It was a whole school effort, with the collective endeavour understood as a practical way of expressing some solidarity with the people of Ukraine, as well as giving something of ourselves in the physical effort of running,” a Bennett Memorial spokesperson told the Times.
“As a school we have been overwhelmed by the generosity, encouragement and support of families and the wider community for our efforts in this cause. We are delighted to have already raised over £22,000, all thanks to the endeavours of the Bennett community. Such an overwhelmingly positive response speaks volumes about our young people, staff, parents and the wider Bennett community. We are truly very grateful for this.”
Meanwhile at Beacon Academy students have been penning letters of kindness for Ukrainian citizens seeking refuge in Poland.
Before lessons begin at the start of each day, students have been given the opportunity to write letters and design cards that could be posted to a charity collecting ‘Letters of Kindness’ which would be hand delivered to individuals and families in need.
Head of Personal Development at Beacon Academy, Miss Lorna Miller, told the Times: “At Beacon Academy we are dedicated to promoting values which ensure that students develop a strong sense of social and moral responsibility.
Every day we encourage the students to ‘Make Your Mark’ and support others by promoting Manners, Acceptance, Respect and Kindness in every aspect of school and daily life. I would like to thank all students for their wonderful contributions to this project.
The thought and care that has been put into creating these letters of kindness is testament to our young people’s maturity and empathy. One student had even helped another to translate their letter into Ukrainian.”
She went on to add that the school’s Student Leadership Team will hold a cake sale to support the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
