Charity marathon place up for grabs
Charity marathon place up for grabs
July 2018
We’re giving you the chance to win a place in the London Marathon 2019.
The marathon will take place on Sunday 28th April and is a great opportunity to raise crucial funds and awareness levels for this fantastic local charity while testing your stamina and being part of something big.
Level Trust supports the thousands of children living in poverty in our town by giving them the things they need for a level chance at school – and beyond. This ranges from school uniform, shoes and coats to learning resources and enriching holiday activities.
We have been allocated one place in the marathon and wants it to go to the right person. If you think that’s you, fill out the online application form before Sunday 26th August 2018 for your chance to be their champion: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LevelTrustMarathon.
Cast your vote to give children a level chance
Cast your vote to give children a level chance
July 2018
Level Trust, a charity that helps families overcome the cost of school, is in with a chance to win up to £4,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme.
Three groups in the local area have been shortlisted to receive cash awards of £1,000, £2,000 and £4,000. Shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
Level Trust will use the grant to fund their fantastic Learn@Home project, which gives children affected by poverty the resources they need to get the most out of learning.
Christian Iszchak from Level Trust said: “Learning is not confined to the classroom so it’s vital to get children reading and drawing, playing and listening, creating and exploring as much as possible at home. Our Learn@Home packs provide resources to help children do just that – for free! With a grant of £4,000 we could give 200 children the resources they need to unlock their amazing potential.”
Voting is open in all Tesco stores during July and August and customers can cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.
Luton children get the chance to love learning
Luton children get the chance to love learning
June 2018
On Tuesday 19th June, Vauxhall Motors and local children’s charity Level Trust teamed up to provide 715 packs of vital learning resources to children and young people in Luton.
The Learn@Home packs are drawstring bags bursting with the things that children need when they start school or while they’re studying for their GCSEs, such as arts and craft supplies, story books, note pads, revision guides and a range of stationery.
With 16,000 children in Luton growing up in poverty, this material support is crucial in giving them a level chance at school – and beyond.
Volunteering for the day, 12 Vauxhall staff from across the Luton operation created the packs and delivered them to 24 Luton schools, often being welcomed by pupils.
“The Warehouse facilities at Vauxhall are normally used to accept car and van parts, but our team were happy to accept the array of stationery items needed for this project. Two Vauxhall Vivaro’s left the Warehouse destined for numerous Luton schools. We were pleased to help so many children whose families are finding things difficult at this time,” said Cherie Denton, Vauxhall Community Coordinator.
Christian Iszchak from Level Trust said: “When a child’s family is struggling to make ends meet, they miss out on things. It’s absolutely fantastic that Vauxhall does so much to help us provide these children with the resources they need for school. Some of the children we met during our deliveries could remember receiving packs of their own two or three years ago, so we know they have a lasting impact!”
Next year, Level Trust and Vauxhall aim to provide packs to even more schools and to nurseries, to meet the huge need in our town. If you would like to help by fundraising or donating materials in bulk, please contact Christian on [email protected] 07480 753905. During July and August, you can vote in local Tesco stores for Level Trust to win up to £4,000 to spend on Learn@Home packs through the Bags of Help scheme.
Share the love this Valentine’s Day
Share the love this Valentine’s Day
February 2018
When money is tight at home, a child might not have the uniform and equipment they need for school. They are unlikely to be able to do fun things in the school holidays and they are more likely to suffer with mental health problems and low self-esteem.
The good news is that we are working to help families with the costs of school, so their children have a level chance.
David (not his real name) heard about Level Trust’s Uniform Exchange through his children’s school family worker. The Exchange is a place where families can swap uniform they have finished with for uniform they need. The family worker reassured him that he didn’t need to be shy or embarrassed.
“The night before the family worker told me about the Uniform Exchange I was going to keep the kids off school. Their trousers were too small. We’d been saying to the teachers every week “we’ll get them next week” but we couldn’t. We were lying.
“Then, in the matter of a day, getting free uniform from the Uniform Exchange took a weight off my shoulders. The kids look smart now. I love it! It meant we could get the rent sorted after being in arrears. It was the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Level Trust is asking people to share the love this Valentine’s Day, by giving to the Uniform Exchange (upstairs in The Mall) so they can support more families like David’s. You can donate uniform, make a financial contribution, or give your time by signing up to volunteer.
Uniform Exchange open to Luton families
Uniform Exchange open to Luton families
November 2017
A fantastic resource for Luton families was officially launched in The Mall this week (November 2017).
The Uniform Exchange is run by Luton charity Level Trust, which works to give every child a level chance at school.
At the opening ceremony, local boxer Jordan Reynolds did the honours by cutting the ribbon. He was joined by children and staff from The Meads and Beechwood Primary Schools, parents, Cllr Hussain Mahmood and Level Trust supporters the Connolly Foundation and Machins Solicitors.
Husna Rasul from Level Trust said: “Anyone can use the Exchange to swap school uniform for free. Not only is it a great way to save money, it’s also good for the environment – giving a new lease of life to good quality uniform stops it ending up in landfill.”
Although the Uniform Exchange has been open since August, this week the official opening was celebrated to coincide with Level Trust’s fifth birthday.
It’s been a busy few years for the charity, who have already provided free school uniform to 1,450 children through their Uniform Exchange project – and this is just the beginning.
New partnership with Machins Solicitors LLP
New partnership with Machins Solicitors LLP
July 2017
We have been chosen as the Luton charity partner by law firm, Machins Solicitors LLP.
Machins’ Managing Partner, Mark Pelopida says “Level Trust is an incredible local charity and we are proud to formalise our partnership. We have chosen to support the Level Trust in Luton who, like Machins, share a strong sense of community and commitment to the town”
Machins have supported Level Trust in many ways in the past through fundraising, volunteering and taking part in initiatives such as Level Trust’s Walk for Shoes which involved hiking up three of the highest peaks in the U.K. and the Uniform Cycle which took a team cycling from Luton to Paris. This year, through a launch event held at Machins’ Luton office, they have reinforced their collaboration and donated a substantive amount to the work of the charity.
Level Trust’s CEO, Jane Malcolm says, ‘We were delighted to have been chosen by Machins to receive such a generous donation. The team at Machins are passionate about what we do and are great fun to work with. They have already done lots of fundraising for us over the last few years through walking up mountains and cycling all the way from Luton to Paris. This donation was a huge surprise to us and will make a significant difference to the number of children we are able to help. We are looking forward to partnering with Machins over the coming years as they continue to support our work.
Natalie’s Story
Natalie’s Story
Natalie is 11 and goes to a local Luton primary school.
This year, Natalie’s dad died suddenly of cancer. Natalie’s Dad had been the main earner for the family and after his death Natalie and her mum suddenly found themselves struggling to afford life’s basic essentials.
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The winter started to draw in and Natalie didn’t have a winter coat. She didn’t want to miss out on playing with her friends at break time so she would still go outside; shivering from the cold whilst still trying to play. She was too worried to ask her mum for a new coat, because she knew her mum was grieving and that they didn’t have any money.
She didn’t want to give her mum something extra to worry about. The days past on and Natalie was getting colder and colder at school, so much so that some days she stopped going in. She kept catching colds and feeling unwell.
The school noticed that Natalie was not herself and offered her a Level Trust gift card for a new winter coat. Natalie and her mum were so overwhelmed with the relief, that this was one less thing to worry about, that they both burst in to tears of gratitude. Since then, Natalie has been at school everyday. She still plays with her friends at break time, but now she is snuggly and warm.
Frank’s Story
Frank has had a hard life. The lines on his face and the tooth decay tell it without words. He arrived at the Uniform Exchange with a bag containing his daughter’s school blazer and jumper. Sinead, his daughter, was struggling with mental health issues and had been eating for comfort. She had rapidly put on a lot of weight and was no longer able to fit into the new school uniform that Frank had bought her not many months ago. The blazer and jumper had cost him £60. Sinead’s uniform was now too tight and she was too embarrassed to wear it. So instead, she was sitting at home rather than going in to school. Frank burst into tears as he told us about Sinead, he said he was really worried about her and he didn’t know what to do. The Uniform Exchange offers parents like Frank a place to swap uniform that no longer fits with uniform that does, meaning children can go to school with confidence. You can find us upstairs in The Mall in Luton.
Farah’s Story
15-year-old Farah noticed that her school shoes were starting to get too small for her.
She wore them for a couple of days but they started to really hurt her feet. Farah comes from a large family with 5 other brothers and sisters. Mum can only work part time because she has to care part time for her Nan who has a long-term illness. It means there is not much money to go around a household of so many. As a result, Farah’s mum couldn’t afford to buy her new school shoes. Farah was mortified. As a good student, she was rarely in trouble at school. She knew if she went into school wearing anything other than school shoes she would be put into isolation. So instead, Farah pretended to be unwell and stayed home from school. Level Trust provided Farah with a gift card for a new pair of school shoes. Farah and her mum were really relieved and Farah has gone back to school and is studying hard for her GCSE’s.
Destiny’s Story
Destiny lives with her brother and mum but not her dad, because he’s in prison. At school, she likes maths but she doesn’t like it when other children are mean. She told us, “I only have friends because of my mum’s friends’ children.” Even though she was looking forward to making friends during our SMASH summer school, she was also nervous about it.
Destiny’s school family worker said, “Destiny has low self-esteem. She’s quite a sad child and struggles socially. But she’s so sporty! That’s why I wanted her to do the multi-sports week – I knew she’d be amazing.”
Over the week, Destiny grew in confidence. She tried new things and enjoyed spending time with the volunteers and other children. On her last day, she said, “I want to tell you that you’ve helped me a lot. Before I came here I was sad because I miss my dad, but now you’ve made me happy.”