For most of us, there will be a pile of Christmas gifts waiting for us under the tree this Christmas morning. However, for many children across the borough, this, sadly, is just a dream, with a shocking number who will not receive anything at all.
It was this prospect that tugged at the heart strings of Lower Sixth Former Charlie Faulkner, who decided to take action and do something about it. The idea of a Christmas present appeal came to him after watching a news story on the cost-of-living crisis and, knowing how well the Bedford School community come together when needed, he set about galvanising support to address the issue.
Firstly, Charlie contacted the Bedford charity FACES (Family and Children’s Early-help Services) to ask if they could help him deliver the gifts where they were most needed. He also wanted to make donating a gift as easy as possible, and, after researching what 1– to 19-year-olds want for Christmas, he came up with the idea of creating an Amazon gift list, where pupils, parents and teachers could directly purchase presents, with delivery directly to the Bell Room.
Charlie set himself a target of 100 gifts and was overwhelmed with the response. He reached his goal in just six days and the generosity has gone on and on.
Charlie explained, “I must say, I underestimated the difficulty of unboxing 100 amazon boxes and I would like to thank the Bell Room staff for putting up with me. I look forward to continuing this appeal next year, and anyone who is interested in getting involved next Christmas is more than welcome. I would like to thank everyone who donated a present – it will make a bigger difference to someone than you think.”
Charlie sought the support of his Mum and Dad, as well as school charity lead, Mrs Marriott, to help deliver the gifts to the charity.
Mrs Marriott told us, “What an inspirational young man Charlie is; he recognised that there were groups in Bedford less fortunate than himself and has driven forward an incredible project that will touch the hearts of many this Christmas. This selfless act of kindness is truly admirable, and Charlie should be incredibly proud of his achievements.”