A local charity is spreading some festive cheer this year by donating hundreds to schools across Lancashire and North Yorkshire.
The Robert Windle Foundation, which is based at The Old Grammar School in Earby, is giving £150 to 10 different schools in order to spread some happiness over the festive season.
Rachel Taylor, the charity’s treasurer, said: “We are absolutely delighted that we've been able to do something special this year.”
Eight Barnoldswick schools have been included in the donation including: Gisburn Road CP School; Salterforth Primary School; Coates Lane Primary; St Joseph RC School; Kelbrook Primary School; Earby Springfield Primary; Barnoldswick CE School and West Craven High School.
Two schools in North Yorkshire, Lothersdale Primary and Thornton in Craven CP also received £150 each.
The charity, which raises money for building maintenance and educational grants, says the random act of kindness comes after they received a ‘significant amount’ of money through their fundraising group over lockdown.
The charity’s treasurer, Rachel Taylor, said they auction off donated items in their selling group in order to raise money – and many people took a keen interest to the group in lockdown.
Ms Taylor said: “We’ve been doing exceptionally well during the pandemic. I don’t know if that’s because people have been clearing out their items more or not.”
Ms Taylor added that there has been a decline in schools and non-profit groups applying for grants in recent months.
She said: “We have had nobody applying for grants over the last few months and I think it’s because everyone at school is so busy and understaffed.
“So we decided to send out 10 cheques to schools in the area because everything is just doom and gloom at the moment and we wanted to do something nice.
“It’s going to be a complete surprise to them and they should have received them on Wednesday (15 December).”
A spokesperson for the charity added: “Thank you to everyone who has bought and donated items, you are the ones that have made this possible.
“We take any household items and gifts, if you have any items you no longer need please donate to us, so we can carry on helping the local community.
“Hope you all have a very merry Christmas and an excellent new year.”
If you or your organisation wants to apply for an educational grant you can do so through the Robert Windle website.
If you want to volunteer for the charity then you can get in touch with trustees via their contact page.
They have also started to open the doors on a Friday afternoons to their 'charity and coffee shop' which has been a “fabulous success”.
It runs every Friday between 1pm and 4pm at The Grammar School on School Lane in Earby.
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