Children at a Staffordshire Primary school have been praised for their amazing fundraising efforts.

Primary school pupils from St. John’s C of E School, Wetley Rocks, have helped the Alice Charity to support children in need in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Josh Tether and Lauren James, the Oak King and Willow Queen at St. John’s, have spearheaded a campaign which has so far led to around 300 gifts being handed to North Staffordshire children.

And further events, including a clay pigeon shoot and a swimathon, have helped to raise hundreds of pounds.

“The work done by Josh, Lauren and their friends at St. John’s is amazing,” said Kath Ramage of Alice.

“We are often given a negative picture of modern day children and hear they are selfish and obsessed with computer games.

“It’s great that the fundraising at St. John’s is led by the children. Josh researched local charities online and put forward a case for the school to support Alice.

“Josh and Lauren have then organised the collections of gifts and donations and Lauren even took it on herself to organise a clay pigeon shoot with the help of her parents.”

Added Kath: “The gifts they collected were fabulous and meant we were able to help parents provide a present to their children over Christmas. Some of the people we supported said there would have been no Christmas presents at all without the help of Alice and the children from St John’s.”

Children at St John’s regularly pick a charity of the year, Deputy Head Teacher Justin Clarke explained.

“In our school we elect a Willow Queen and Oak King each year and their main role is to spearhead our fundraising activity.

“Lauren and Josh researched local charities before being interviewed for their roles as king and queen and it was agreed that the Alice Charity would be a very worthwhile choice.

“The children arrange the fundraising activities with help from myself when needed. “It helps that we have excellent support from parents who get behind the events.”

Josh said: “We chose the Alice Charity because they offer support to local families in needs. Helping a local charity was very important to us. Alice focuses on kindness to others and supports families with children of all ages.”

Lauren added: “We especially like the campaigns they run which make a difference to children such as the Christmas Present and Christmas Jumper campaigns which raise funds in interesting and fun ways.

“It is wonderful that Alice tries to provide a present, clothing or even a bed to people who are really in need of help.”

ENDS

For media enquiries contact Nigel Howle by phone on 0776 2043436 or email [email protected]

Notes to Editors:
The Alice Charity was founded in 2011 to provide social, emotional and financial support for families in need of a helping hand.
Projects include:
Pass it On: Alice Charity collect good quality second hand goods and distribute them to vulnerable families in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Buckets of Possibilities: The Alice Charity supports parents who through problems such as poverty, mental health issues, or drug abuse, cannot provide an appropriate home environment for their children. The Alice Charity team make home visits to assess what needs to be done to create a safe and healthy environment. Repair and refurbishment plans are then completed with the help of professionals. After work on the home is complete, the charity continues to provide ongoing support to ensure they are able to maintain a healthy standard of living.

Little Kindnesses: Designed to provide simple acts of kindness from topping up a gas meter during a cold spell to ensuring that a child can go with his or her friends on a school trip.

The Alice Charity’s vision is to help 5,000 families by 2017.

For further information please go online to www.alicecharity.com