Burgess Hill organisations create 260 Christmas hampers for residents in need

The partnership included Burgess Hill District Lions, Burgess Hill Community Foodbank, Burgess Hill Town Council, Burgess Hill Youth, The King's Church Mid Sussex and Sussex Clubs for Young People.

Volunteers for the Christmas Hamper Project sorted through thousands of food items to make sure the families will not go hungry.

A Burgess Hill Town Council spokesperson said: “The hampers were packaged by a band of volunteers, including staff from Cambridge Audio and Canon, at The King’s Church, across two days, with help from pupils from local schools: Burgess Hill Academy and Downlands Community School. More volunteers will then deliver the hampers to those in need, over the first weekend of December. The Rapid Relief Team donated 98 additional boxes to the project, helping to ensure that any last-minute requests were fulfilled.”

Burgess Hill Town Council staff also went to Tesco to pick up plenty of items for the project and thank the team in person. Burgess Hill District Lions purchased the items and Tesco donated mince pies at the last minute.

The town council spokesperson continued: “Many local businesses contributed to the project, with donations from the Co-Op (Junction Road), Steve Willis Training, Acora, Paper Plus, Travail Employment Group, PVL UK, Bennett Christmas and Bio-Productions. A number of local schools also donated to the project, with food donations from Burgess Hill Girls, Burgess Hill Academy, Downlands Community School, and St Paul's Catholic College. The congregation at Gateway Baptist Church also collected food donations.”

The Christmas Hamper Project will return in 2023.