Highfield and Brookham children donate harvest produce to Liphook Day Centre

Children and parents from Highfield and Brookham Schools in Liphook celebrated harvest last weekend. Over 200 people gathered in the school’s chapel, which was decorated with an abundance of fruit, vegetables, and packed and tinned food which had all been kindly donated by families from the school. Children in the Pre-prep contributed to the festival by harvesting vegetables that they had grown with care themselves in the school’s vegetable garden.

All of the donations were generously donated to Liphook Day Centre for the elderly. The Centre, which opened in 1982, relies entirely on self-financing and donations in order to help support, provide companionship and feed so many in this area who would otherwise miss out on hot meals and company.

The team at Liphook Day Centre said: “We received all the harvest goods and we are extremely grateful for your kindness and generosity. We have made batches of fresh soup, stocked up our treat cupboard, planned a fantastic menu with the goods and put some treats away for our clients’ Christmas hampers – thank you!”

Support for the Liphook Day Centre does not stop there as the Highfield and Brookham community has established a strong relationship with the Centre’s residents. Every Thursday afternoon for almost ten years children in Year 8 have served tea, chatted, listened, sung, and forged strong friendships with the elderly and the Centre’s team of volunteers, and this is continuing again this year. The benefits are mutual and many of the children discover the pleasure of how simply engaging with others outside their normal friendships groups is profoundly enriching and enjoyable.

Phillip Evitt, Headmaster at Highfield School, said: “Our duty as a school is to encourage our children to ‘look out’ and to consider how they might best help others less fortunate. Of course, we don’t just need Harvest Festival to act as a spur, but it provides an invaluable way of reacquainting our children with the importance of service and consideration to others.”

To find out more about Highfield and Brookham Schools, please visit highfieldandbrookham.co.uk