On Tuesday, 8th March, Y12 students from Notre Dame and All Saints schools volunteered to spend the day at a warehouse in Sheffield to help load pallets with items ready for lorries going to Ukraine.
The students started work at around 10am in the morning and did not stop working until 2.30pm, with only a short break in between. Students were split into groups and worked together with an adult volunteer who helped direct them. Students carried boxes and lifted them onto pallets, they labelled boxes, re-organized items to go in boxes, taped up the loads of pallets when they were complete. Students even had time at the end of the day to write messages to the people of Ukraine which were placed in the cellophane wrapping so that when the pallets arrive people will be greeted with messages of prayers and kindness from our wonderful young people.
The adult volunteers and the people in charge of the warehouse were wonderful to work with and our students worked so well with them and with the students from All Saints school. They even managed to steal some laughs in their working groups whilst still working hard. One volunteer (an ex policeman) said it was a real pleasure to work with our young people and he wanted to tell me personally how hard they worked. Agnieszka and Anna, two of the adults behind this project, were overwhelmed with the support and hard work the students provided and they became very emotional when students were saying goodbye. This project has been set up free of charge and all items have been donated, time donated, lorry drivers donated, lorries donated. The warehouse is donated, free of charge. No money has passed through the hands of any of these volunteers.
Our young people have helped towards making a difference to the lives of so many in Ukraine.
Suzanne, Chaplain