Our donation of £825.66, raised at the Avocet House fete, was recently collected by Building Lives International UK. It was an emotional meeting when we discovered our donation alone will cover the costs of 160 children accessing education for an entire year! Our kind and thoughtful young people have worked tirelessly to make this happen.

Feeling inspired by how much difference they can make, the young people were challenged to each fill a shoebox with toys for the children in Uganda.  They had to take into consideration various things such as; the children are outside most of the time; they have no batteries; the gifts have to be light and small so they can be taken on an aeroplane.

Our young people excelled at this challenge, they were inventive and considered everything they needed to. They were told the children would have not seen some of the toys before and will be full of intrigue and excitement. 

This project has been beneficial to everyone as helping others can be a way to heal yourself:

• Endorphins: When you help someone your body releases endorphins.
• Improved mood: Helping others can boost your mood and make you more optimistic.
• Brain changes: Helping others can promote brain changes linked with happiness.
• Sense of purpose: Helping others can give you a sense of purpose and direction.
• Stress reduction: Helping others can be an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety.
• Sense of belonging: Helping others can build a sense of self-worth and belonging
• Empathy and compassion: Helping others can help you feel empathy and compassion towards them which can increase your sense of gratitude.
• Social reciprocity: Helping others can build social reciprocity, as people who’ve been helped are more likely to respond in kind.