The SVDP (St. Vincent de Paul) representatives of St. Joseph’s Parish made a visit to St. Joseph’s School last term to ask if we could help advertise the new local Independent Voluntary Foodbank which had opened recently at the Red Cross Hall, 116 East Princes Street, Helensburgh. They informed us that no referral was necessary for anyone to benefit from this new initiative in the town and could we please let parents know of its existence via our next school newsletter.

However, always keen to help the local community, St. Joseph’s pupils, parents and staff also wanted to help support the Foodbank. To this end, the Head Teacher contacted the organisers of the Foodbank to let them know we were keen to help. The organisers were delighted with our offer of help and asked in particular for the following items of which they were short: UHT life-long milk, small bags of sugar (500g), cup-a-soups and toothbrushes.

The whole school community then started collecting. Soon the collection container was full to bursting and our first load was recently uplifted by the same SVDP ladies who came to see us in December. They were so thrilled and asked specifically for the Head Teacher to thank the parents for their unswerving generosity.

‘The local community is of great importance to us. They give us so much and work with us on many projects – the parents, pupils and staff were only too delighted to find a way to pay back their help and kindness’, said Head Teacher Michelle Collins.

The school has now started to fill their next container for the Foodbank and delighted it will help so many people in the local community