Eastleigh College student Sophie, who is currently studying Level 3 Accountancy while doing her Apprenticeship with Hampshire County Council, has warmed the hearts of the community with her generous donations to vulnerable young people this Christmas.
Sophie put her passion for supporting care-leavers into action and organised a successful present collection for young people leaving care, after hearing that care leaving teams in Hampshire were looking for present donations.
In just four weeks Sophie collected an astonishing 2,000 presents which will benefit young people from four care-leaving teams, covering Havant, Basingstoke, Fareham and Totton.
Sophie explains why she put all her efforts into the project to help young people, “I am a care-leaver and was in similar situations to these young people, where I didn’t feel like I could talk to anyone. I don’t want other young people to think they’re on their own this Christmas.”
To deliver the presents in time, Sophie enlisted the help of a local company who donated a van to deliver the gifts to the local areas. Sophie’s present collection has finished for this year but you can still donate Christmas gifts to vulnerable people by taking your donations to the YMCA in Southampton, where Sophie has also volunteered in the past.
Eastleigh College Hospitality and Catering students ended their year on a high note as they joined Andrew Mackenzie, Executive Chef of the Exclusive Chefs Academy, to cook up a storm for College staff and parents.
Eastleigh College and Fujitsu hosted a range of local employers on campus for a Breakfast Morning event to launch the new Fujitsu training facilities, illustrate the apprenticeship opportunities available at Eastleigh College, and to learn more about the new Trailblazer apprenticeship standards. Attendees included Solent Growth Hub, Advanced Engineering, Institute of Refrigeration, Blue Diamond Pumps, Arcus and ICS Cool Energy.