A group of Preparation for Life and Work students has raised nearly £300 to give homeless people gifts this Christmas.

The eight students used the money to create 20 sacks containing seasonal essentials, including gloves, hat, scarves, socks, hand sanitiser and other toiletries, as well as chocolate, a Christmas cracker and a voucher for Greggs. The students also decorated the sacks with festive designs.

The Christmas sacks were donated to ARC, a local charity which houses and supports the homeless. Each year, the charity collects donations for its residents living in properties in Taunton, West Somerset and Sedgemoor, aiming to make sure that every single one receives a gift box at Christmas.

ARC Fundraising and Communications Assistant Alice Hannon visited BTC to collect the sacks from the PLW students and tell them more about the charity’s work. She said

I just want to say thank you to all the students for their hard work. These sacks are absolutely wonderful and will really help our residents at a very difficult time of the year. It will help them know that they are not alone, and that people really do care.

Foundation Studies Lecturer Alison Ward said

This was the students’ first enterprise project and links to our BTC Advantage personal development programme, which is embedded into all our courses. The project has given the students the opportunity to develop and use a range of essential work skills, as well as supporting a local charity. All of the students have to deal with their own personal challenges on a daily basis, but this didn’t stop them tirelessly fundraising so they could fill the twenty Christmas sacks with a variety of essential goodies. Each student has shown they had the enthusiasm, commitment and dedication to make this project a success. It was an absolute joy to see the sense of achievement on the students’ faces when we handed the sacks over to ARC.

For more information about BTC Advantage, visit the programme page, or come to the open evening at Taunton campus on Tuesday 18 January 2022 or Bridgwater campus on Wednesday 19 January 2022.

To find out about ARC and its work, please visit the charity’s website.