We were delighted to see a local primary school we supported at Christmas feature in a recent special ITV News West Country report, which can be viewed here.

Following an approach from David Birley, a recent mayor of Sherborne, Church House, along with several other businesses across our home town, decided to support the schools initiative to provide food bags and energy vouchers worth £50 to help families in need this Christmas. Recognising the challenge presented by a rising cost of living the school was keen to do what they could to help over the festive period. Seventy families were supported in this way, mainly those with children who receive free school meals.

As one recipient, a single parent and a foster carer, commented:

It means a lot to have this…It just has that little extra touch and it will explain to the children that there is a community and they’re part of something bigger than just our family - they’ve got a community supporting them.

Another mentioned the stress of deciding whether to have a hot bath or a hot meal.

James Johnsen, our Director and Head of Private Clients, commented:

We let our clients know that, instead of sending out Christmas cards this year, we thought they would rather see us supporting such a worthwhile local initiative and have so far had uniformly positive feedback about such a practical and effective idea.