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Schools gear up for Shelter’s Great Gingerbread House Sale to raise money for homeless children this Christmas
School children across the UK are getting ready to bake for a good cause this Christmas as the housing charity Shelter launches its second annual Great Gingerbread House Sale to raise money for homeless families.
With 90,000 children facing the prospect of waking up homeless this holiday season, Shelter is calling on schools to support their emergency Christmas appeal by designing, baking, building and, most importantly, selling an array of gingerbread creations.
Last year, school students across the country rose to the challenge, building decadent creations from wintery gingerbread cottages to giant gingerbread country estates, all the while raising nearly than £80,000 for the charity.
Shelter is challenging schools to raise even more this year with their delicious creations. Like last year, the money raised from each sale will go towards helping homeless children at Christmas, and making sure that the charity can continue helping families struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
To make things easy for teachers, they will be able to download lesson plans tailored for both the English and Scottish curriculum, alongside a range of other resources for teachers, youth leaders and parents. This includes tempting recipes, fundraising tips, and certificates and posters, to make each school’s Great Gingerbread House Sale a huge success.
An ideal activity for school Christmas Fairs, an all-school challenge or simply fun Christmas-themed lessons, the Great Gingerbread House Sale is open to all ages and abilities, with a dedicated website where pupils and teachers can upload photos of their designs and finished houses. They can then vote for their favourites, with prizes available for the houses with the most votes.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “It’s just not right that in this day in age, there are any homeless children in this country, let alone 90,000. That’s why we want schools and community groups across Britain to join our Great Gingerbread House Sale and help us prevent more children and families spending their Christmas day without a home.
“Tragically, we hear from parents everyday struggling to make ends meet, living with the knowledge that just one thing like a job loss or an illness can push them spiralling towards homelessness.
“That’s why we urgently need people’s support. All the money raised from each gingerbread house sale will help us to keep a roof over a family’s head, and ensure that more children have a place to call home this Christmas.”
To find out more or get involved, visit www.shelter.org.uk/gingerbread