Letters from secondary school students bring ‘joy and happiness' to elderly in isolation

Students from a secondary school in Northampton have written letters to older people who are isolating during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Abbeyfield School, in Mereway, held a non-uniform day before the school closed, when the school also wrote letters and collected essential food items.

The school managed to raise more than £1,000 for Age UK Northamptonshire — a charity that is helping older people during the current lockdown.

More than 100 letters were also written by pupils at the school, which the charity says has brought ‘joy and happiness’ to older people across the county.

Fern Overton, for Age UK Northamptonshire, said: “The letters were amazing, so thoughtful and encouraging and have really shown our clients that they haven’t been forgotten.

“The letters have been delivered and feedback has been really positive. They have brought a smile to the faces of many and given people a real boost.”

Siona Robson, Principal of Abbeyfield School added: "I am so proud of our fabulous students and staff.

“The fundraising day, despite everything, was such a positive, purposeful day.

“As a school, we raised £1,082 for Age UK Northamptonshire. This is an incredible sum considering we had depleted numbers.

“I am delighted that the cards that students made, and their lovely, positive messages have made such a difference."

The money raised will go towards the services that the charity is currently offering, including an emergency delivery service for older people, which is how the letters were delivered.

After the success of the letters donated by pupils at Abbeyfield School, Age UK Northamptonshire is appealing for more “messages of hope” and are asking young people to send electronic pictures, cards, and letters via email to [email protected], which can then be printed and delivered.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you