Cookers Donated to Solihull Families Worth Over £2000

Cookers Donated to Solihull Families Worth Over £2000

Grace Academy Solihull has donated eight electric cookers worth over £2000 to local families this Christmas, after they were left over as part a recent refurbishment at the Academy.

A team from Grace Academy Solihull took time out this week to deliver the cookers straight to people’s houses in time for the festive season, so families, parents and carers can have a cooked Christmas meal.

Working with a range of agencies including the Time4You Project and Solihull Community Housing, the Academy also secured funding to have the cookers tested and installed by local electricians Driscoll Electrical Contractors.

Kay Hart, Community and Family Development Officer and Joint Lead for the Community Parents ’Time4You’ Project, said:

“As a Community Development Lead for the Council, I was delighted to be able to network with the family workers across the north and highlight the families in most need of the cookers. It’s fantastic partnership working at its best!”

Solihull Community Housing supported the project by offering to remove and dispose of residents’ old cookers free of charge to help make way for the brand new ones.

Steve Boyd, Chief Executive of Solihull Community Housing, said: “We were delighted to be able to work with Grace Academy to help local residents.

“We have not charged for the removal of the old cookers as we know this is an expensive time of year for families. We hope the residents enjoy their new cookers this Christmas.”

Matt Spina, Assistant Principal for Ethos and Student Life, Maxine Bromley, Family Support Worker, and Tom Abel, Support Services, from Grace Academy Solihull helped to deliver the cookers, and Matt Spina commented:

“It’s really rewarding being able to work with other groups in the community to do something so simple, yet so practical for people. We had the cookers, but we needed the help of our community partners to find them worthy new homes.”

Darren Gelder, Principal, Grace Academy Solihull, added:

“This really is the true spirit of Christmas, where we need to consider that those less fortunate struggle for things that we take for granted. Being able to donate and install the cookers with the support of the community is fantastic. We know the impact that this simple action will have on helping people cope in what are extremely tough times.”