Refugees are focus of humanitarian effort

Three teenagers studying for their BTECs in media at the college’s Buxton campus have worked hard to shift mountains of donated clothing, sort it, bag it and get it ready for shipping from Buxton’s High Peak Refugee Support – co-ordinated by the Hummingbird Project shop in London Road - to the refugee camps in the Greek Islands, Turkey, Dunkirk and Calais.

Eight tonnes of aid have been shipped out from Buxton since October and students Charlie Norris, Charlotte Marsden and Louise Maynard-Singh have worked tirelessly to help the humanitarian effort.

Project founder Pam Lake said: “We are in awe of these young people for being so hard-working and lovely. It’s really not a glamorous job sorting through our donations of clothing.

“We have had literally mountains of it to get through and it has had to be bagged up in rubble sacks, labelled and cable tied before we can ship it out to the refugee camps where it’s needed.

“Our helpers from Buxton and Leek College have done the job with smiles on their faces.”

The teenagers volunteered to help the Hummingbird Project as part of Buxton and Leek College’s enrichment programme which encourages them to get involved in community projects.

Their fellow students have been helping out too with donations which they drop off at the college’s Devonshire Library.

Ingrid Keith, chaplaincy co ordinator at Buxton and Leek College, said: “Thanks to student donations, we’ve been able to send off three boxes of hats, scarves and gloves as well as a box of baby items.

“We are now collecting sachets of baby food as we find that focusing on specific items helps to speed up packing and delivery.”

Buxton and Leek College are happy to receive any donations via the library desk or people can drop off items directly to the Hummingbird Project shop at 1 London Road any Monday, Friday or Saturday.

Opening hours are noon until 4pm on weekdays and 11am until 3pm Saturdays.

Buxton and Leek College is part of the University of Derby group.

It was formed in August 2012, following the merger of Leek College and the University of Derby’s Buxton College and provides a comprehensive, high-quality further education, higher education and training service to students of all ages and abilities from Leek, Buxton and the surrounding areas.

In the first Ofsted inspection since the merger, Buxton and Leek College was graded as ‘good’ in all aspects – the best inspection result for either of the pre-merged colleges in over 15 years.

For more information on Buxton and Leek College, visit the website www.blc.ac.uk, or call 0800 074 0099.

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