STUDENTS and staff at King’s Ely have rallied round to help make Christmas that little bit easier for people who are homeless or in hardship.
Niamh Quinn, 6, who is a pupil at King’s Ely Acremont, was walking through Ely with her family earlier this month when she witnessed some teenagers being rude to a homeless man in the street.
Upset by what she had seen, Niamh decided she wanted to make the man some dinner when she got home. With the help of her parents, Rebecca and Sean, Niamh made the homeless man a meal, rounded up some of her chocolates and some pairs of socks, and delivered them to him.
Niamh and her parents later bumped into the man and he was clutching the socks. He told them he was extremely grateful for them, which triggered Mr Quinn, who is Head of Psychology at King’s Ely Senior, to find out more about Socks and Chocs – a charity group which relieves hardship and distress among homeless people and those living in adverse housing conditions.
Mr Quinn decided he not only wanted to do more to help the local homeless community but to also use the Socks and Chocs group as an example when teaching his AS Level Psychology students about social change.
As a result, a Socks and Chocs collection was launched inside school and with the help of the Quinn family and students and staff at King’s Ely, over 400 pairs of socks and chocolate gifts have been donated.
The Quinn family will be taking the bumper Socks and Chocs collection to Jimmy’s Cambridge in time for Christmas Day. Jimmy’s supports hundreds of homeless people and families in Cambridgeshire every year.
To find out more about Socks and Chocs, visit www.socksandchocs.co.uk. For more information about Jimmy’s Cambridge, go to www.jimmyscambridge.net.