Supporting Northampton School Children

One of the greatest feelings is knowing that the McCarty- Dixon foundation can make a difference to families in our area of Northampton

The support our families have received throughout COVID and now from the McCarthy Dixon foundation has been invaluable. They have provided much needed food and vouchers to our most vulnerable families. Our families and our school are extremely grateful to Teresa and all the team for making this support available and possible.

Over the last two years, our school have developed a partnership with TMDF. These two years have coincided with some extremely challenging times for some of our most vulnerable children and families. TMDF has provided increasing amounts of support at points within our community where it is needed most. As schools become increasingly pressurised to absorb the burden of over-worked social agencies, it has been so reassuring to work alongside a charity that is increasingly committed to supporting those suffering hardship.

We came across The McCarthy Dixon Foundation through a chance email over a year and a half ago. The work they do is absolutely amazing and invaluable for many families during hard times. We have a number of children who don’t have breakfast before they arrive at school, so the breakfast boxes have proved a real lifeline as it was impacting on their concentration and general behaviour. Thank you so much to all at The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation.

The McCarthy Dixon Foundation have been an absolute Godsend to our struggling families. The thanks we receive from the families for distributing the food packages is so heart-warming. A lot of our families would have found times a lot harder without their support and we as a school are so grateful to them. We have one family in particular who had 3 children at our school and would always ring up to express their extreme gratitude for the help offered. Thank you, Teresa and the McCarthy-Dixon Foundation family.

Since the beginning of lock down the TMDF has been an ongoing support to many of our families, the foundation has helped with many things such as:  Devices were provided for some children so they could access online learning whilst school was closed elevating a great pressure from families that were struggling with many other things during a difficult time. Food bags have by far made the biggest difference to our families, with many of them saying to us that having them eases the worry of their food bills. During the summer, supermarket vouchers were provided. Our families were able to choose where they wanted to shop and with them being vouchers, they were able to spend them on many essential things such as clothes, uniform or a treat  Breakfast boxes have helped children who for no fault of their own have arrived at school hungry, giving them the best possible start to their learning. Whilst the four things above have the biggest impact on our families, Treasa has also provided families with food hampers at Christmas along with toys and chocolate treats to make the children's Christmas special and Easter eggs have been provided giving parents the opportunity to treat their children at no extra cost. Our school community are extremely grateful for everything Treasa and her team do for our school and without their help we would not be able to support our families to the extent we do.

I am writing to thank you for the work that Teresa and her team do on behalf of the community in general and our school in particular. The pandemic has shone a spotlight on the difficulty experienced by many families in our community, not just because of Covid 19 but also as a result of the rising cost of living and a swathe of other challenges faced by many people in society. As an Alternative Provision Academy, we work with many young people, and families, whose lives are often in crisis when they arrive with us. The challenges they face with their education are often compounded by external factors such as economic deprivation or family issues In the face of the myriad challenges experienced by the young people, as above, a food parcel may seem like a small thing. Having personally delivered hundreds of these food parcels (all donated to us through the support of TMDF) I can assure you that they make the most fundamental difference to the families who receive them. Anecdotal evidence shared with me includes parents bursting into tears at the delivery of food because they had nothing else to put on the table that evening, parents telling us that the parcels allow them to eat instead of just feeding the children and most recently a parent told me that a food parcel received allowed her to turn the heat on when the house got cold. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for the difference you make and for the positive impact you help us make for the families in the most need.

We wanted to personally thank you for supporting our families throughout the last academic year. Your input has been invaluable to our school and community. More then 300 families have contributed for the 'largest food parcels we have seen', there were even Halal Turkeys at Christmas time. The foundation has completely considered how diverse our school is and incorporated that in the generous hampers for the families. Furthermore, the families have benefitted from Pamper nappies, toys, books as well as fresh food/non-perishables. The school supports the charity to the fullest and will be an advocate in sharing the word throughout the Trust and local community.

From Christmas 2020 to date, we continue to receive support from your Foundation on a weekly basis. You have supplied much needed food bags for up to 21 of our families containing food and essentials such as fresh fruit, dairy products as well as some frozen meat, which has proved a significant top up for many of our families. The Foundation has provided a significant lifeline not only for families on income support, but also for those families who are just above the poverty line and do not, therefore, qualify for Government support. We continue to be impressed with the logistics of the collections and distribution and the effectiveness and the compassion showed by your volunteers at the food bank. These food donations provide a much-needed boost for our families who are struggling financially due to job losses during this pandemic. Lastly, the donation of 2 laptops from the Foundation has given 2 of our families access to on-line lessons, supporting their education at home. Thank you once again for your continued support for our families and I hope you are able to continue your much needed, appreciated and amazing work for our local community.

We have been so thankful for The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation who have lessened the impact and strain on many of our most needy families during this difficult time. Their commitment and enthusiasm has been amazing and the families have been extremely appreciative of all the support they have been able to offer, ensuring families do not go without many of what we would call everyday cupboard food. Having the odd ‘treat’ in the food hampers has also been a luxury that light up the children’s eyes when the doorbell rings!

Thank you for your support over the lockdown period, the food parcels we received from you were so helpful to our most vulnerable families. Some of our children relied on the school for their hot meal each day as their family is struggling financially, lockdown has added extra pressure for these families as they now have to provide this themselves. The offer of food parcels for the summer holidays would be an enormous help to our families. We have identified 10 who are really struggling at the moment. The food parcels would help relieve pressure on the families and make a difference to their overall wellbeing. Thank you so much for thinking of the school and our families.