Danielle Roman, Charlotte Rainey, Rachel Rudman and Reverend Nigel Sinclair volunteered with Horsforth Children’s Services between Thursday 11 and Friday 12 February, packaging 70 activity packs for children in Horsforth to enjoy with their families. 

The packs contained ingredients for children to make sweetcorn fritters and heart shaped biscuits, with some items donated by Kitchen Craft. The initiative also received funding from Horsforth Community Aid Project (HCAP), a partnership of local organisations who work together with Leeds City Council and Voluntary Action Leeds to support and provide care for members of the Horsforth community. 

Vicki Madeley, Cluster Manager at Horsforth Children’s Services, said, “Lots of our children and young people are really missing school and their friends during lockdown so it’s great to be able to provide something different to do over half term as a welcome break from home-school. It’s fantastic that we can work with Leeds Trinity University to offer these activities and we’re very grateful for all the hard work of the volunteers. 

“Horsforth Children’s Services has a long history of partnership working with the University and this further strengthens our links. We look forward to more collaboration in the future.” 

Danielle Roman, Chaplaincy Administrator at Leeds Trinity University, said: “This lockdown and period of home schooling has been the toughest of the three, I think, so it was such a privilege to be able to do something good for the children in Horsforth and provide a little distraction for them and their families”. 

Horsforth Children’s Services works in partnership with Horsforth schools and local organisations to improve the outcomes for all children, young people and their families in the Horsforth community. 

The service aims to ensure all children and young people reach their full potential through the provision of support and excellent learning and teaching experiences in schools. Find out more about Horsforth Children’s Services on their website. 

Leeds Trinity University recognises that volunteering can be good for the individual, the community and the organisation. Through the University’s Employee Volunteering Scheme, staff members can undertake two days paid volunteering leave per academic year; to make a difference, engage with the local community and develop new skills.