FAMILIES hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdown will benefit from four large hampers filled with crafts, school supplies, uniform and electronic devices donated by a handmade furniture business.
Bespoke kitchen specialists Hedgehog Furniture, which works with clients throughout the North East and Yorkshire, presented Richmond Methodist Primary School with the home-schooling hampers to help pupils and families deeply affected by the pandemic.
Sharon Stevenson, headteacher at the school on Darlington Road in Richmond, said the donations will help support four deserving families at a “very challenging time of hardship and worry.”
“The very ethos of our school is to do all the good we can, in all the ways we can, to all the people we can. We instil this in all the children and this incredible act of kindness is what makes us so proud of the families we have here,” she said.
“These hampers will make a very real difference to people that have been terribly affected by the pandemic.”
Hedgehog Furniture, a small family business owned by brothers Andrew and Ryan Harris and based in Colburn, specialises in handcrafted kitchens and bespoke wooden furniture.
Having five children to support, the family are no strangers to the pressures of lockdown and filled hampers with activity books, printer paper, modelling clay, jigsaws, calculators, chocolates, treats, and four Kindle Fire tablets.
Now that lockdown restrictions are lifting additional items of school uniform were also added to further assist with the return to school.
Andrew Harris said: “The school is doing wonders under difficult circumstances. We have been so fortunate to continue to do business through the restrictions and we wanted to show our appreciation at a time when many are struggling.
“Rather than putting on the familiar discount we wanted to give something back to support those in our community. Families need ongoing support, and those businesses that continue to perform and even thrive in these unprecedented times have the opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
The school’s junior leader Emily Longley was there to help collect the hampers. She said: “It made me feel that there is light even in the darkest of times, even in February 2021.”