TOBES #100CarePackages social action project smashes target for Homeless Oxfordshire

TOBES (The Oxfordshire Business and Enterprise School) students have made an amazing 135 care packages for Homeless Oxfordshire!

Driven by the College's “Changing Lives and Communities" mission, students chose to create a fundraising campaign for the local community. This initiative was part of the College’s Social Action Project that all Level 3 students participate in.

The students set themselves the impressive target of making 100 care packages, each complete with food, gift vouchers, clothing, sanitary and wellbeing products in just one week for the homeless in Oxfordshire.

Students over the Witney and Abingdon Campus divided into teams of Marketing, Social Media, Logistics, Stakeholder Management and Packaging to work efficiently in the short time frame.

Students visited local businesses explaining their cause and collecting donations. Special thanks to Chilton Garden Centre, Natwest Bank, Abingdon Library, Costa, Café Nero and Greggs who were just a few of the businesses who donated.

A Just Giving page was also created and has raised over £300; you can still donate here.

Logos were created, boxes constructed, and strategies devised, as teams of students took to the streets and online to spread the word of their fundraising campaign #100CarePackages.

Students worked hard to go above their target and in total created 135 care packages. Students chose to fundraise for this important cause because the UK is experiencing a homelessness crisis. Research found that the number of rough sleepers in Oxford has increased by 400% since 2012. In Oxford, the average house price of £491,900 is around 16 times the average yearly household income of £29,400.

Homeless Oxfordshire’s mission is to provide short term accommodation with access to high quality support and initiatives that enable people to have a safe space, in which they can begin to take control of their own lives and recover from homelessness.

“This was a great Social Action Project," said Coral Ward, Quality Lead for TOBES. "The students really engaged with the idea as they wanted to do something to help those in their local community. Students worked really hard over the week; not only did they raise money and complete selfless acts but they developed their project management, organisation, teamworking and problem solving skills.”

"Thank you to all individuals and companies that supported this fundraising campaign."