Even though this year has been tough, that has not stopped an incredibly determined woman from helping and supporting the community in any way she can, and I was lucky enough to interview her recently. She told me what she had learnt is that ‘there are so many willing people, they just need a cause to support’. Lydia Loxton is a kindergarten teacher and Charities Coordinator at The Roche School. ‘As and when a parent or a member of staff pitches something and says look, I feel strongly about this, can we raise extra money for it?’, Lydia brings it to fruition and this year she says that ‘there is lots going on’.
Christmas in the midst of an all consuming global pandemic was never going to be ‘normal,’ and perhaps for more than anyone at this time of year the elderly are feeling the effects. Having been isolated from family members for the best part of 2020, and huge numbers of the expected Christmas plans; fairs and light shows etc, now being cancelled, Age UK Wandsworth have made it their mission ‘to ensure every isolated older person has a reason to smile this Christmas.’ With the help of Ainsley Harriott - MBE, English chef and TV presenter, leading the press operation, the aim is for 1000 older people to receive a parcel. In order to make and deliver such vast numbers of Christmas parcels, help was enlisted! People in the borough of Wandsworth rallied together. Able to show their support through: donating £20 - the cost of a singular box, getting crafty - making masks or hand writing Christmas cards and collecting items from the supermarket.