FHS supports Aid Box Convoy for refugees

Fairfield High students collect clothes and food for Calais refugee effort

Posted by Stephanie Broad | October 17, 2015 | International

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• #aid-box-convoy
• #refugees
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Students and staff from Fairfield High School acted quickly to support a team from Bristol taking supplies to refugees in Calais. 

In a week, the school collected a vanload of clothes and food for the Aid Box Convoy and raised £150 through a raffle.

The charity efforts were led by year nine students including Ruby Ross, whose aunt Imogen McIntosh is one of the founders of the Aid Box Convoy.

Lee Mead, achievement co-ordinator for year nine, said that about six bags of clothes and 25 boxes of food were contributed at FHS. He explained that specific support – including food, toiletries, stoves  and cooking utensils -  was needed for the refugees, who are arriving at the camps after long, arduous and often dangerous journeys.

Volunteers, including a former nurse from Ashley Down, set off on Friday October 9 to deliver more than 300 aid boxes to some of the smaller camps in northern France, which are housing an estimated 700 people, including women, children and newborns. 

They also took wood for fuel and materials for shelter-building, some of which were donated by the Bristol graffiti artist Banksy following the closure of his successful Dismaland show in Weston-super-Mare. 

Another high-profile supporter is the Bristol-based arts and music show group Arcadia, which donated a lorry and driver to the mission. 

Nearly £6,000 has been contributed via the group's JustGiving page. 

www.fairfield.bristol.sch.uk