Sheppey teens give back to their seniors this Christmas

Whilst Christmas is a time of happiness for most it can be a difficult time for many, and students at Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey want to do their piece to make life a little brighter for those on the island.

As part of their community outreach, students from both campuses of the Oasis academy on the Isle of Sheppey have been taking on the role of Santa to deliver gifts across Swale. In the last week, over 300 presents were distributed by these young people in the last week to care homes such as Blackburn Lodge, Oakdene, Barton Court, Court Regis, Woodstock Residential Care Centre, Hengist Field and Age UK Sheppey.

Stephanie Kitching, Woodstock Residential Care Centre commented saying “I would like to say a massive thank you to the lovely students for coming to our home. The residents all said how lovely and polite the children were and how they all enjoyed chatting with them. The beautiful presents will be shared out amongst our residents on Christmas, and I’m sure they will be really appreciated as sadly not everyone receives gifts on the day.”

Paul Murray, Community Leader, commented saying “We are most grateful for the support we have received from the local councils, whom without we would not be able to fund this student community gift-giving scheme.”

The students at the academy have also run Christmas Dementia Cafes as part of their dementia awareness and support programme, holding one at the Minster campus of the school on the 11^th. Over 120 guests attended the event, catered for by the academy and Paul’s wife. The students joined the Salvation Army in singing carols and providing a joyous day to the attendees.

“We have done this for the last ten years, and do not charge for any of the work we do, although some people do choose to make donations which we are proud to receive. We thank the councils again for their support and look forward to our upcoming events in the new year” commented Paul Murray.

If you would like to find out more about the academy or the Hub please visit www.oasisacademyisleofsheppey.org