Pupils at Braeburn School in Scarborough received some early festive cheer after four hundred Christmas gifts were purchased with support from Anglo American, owners of the Woodsmith Mine near Whitby.
The school sent out an appeal to local businesses after a tough period due to the ongoing difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Braeburn Primary Academy were one of many forced to cancel several Christmas traditions for a second year running, including discos and visits to local care homes.
“As always, we are determined to give all our children the best possible experiences at Christmas time,” said Braeburn Headteacher Tim Jolly.
“To receive such wonderful financial support from local businesses has enabled us to make this year even more special. In addition to in-school experiences, all our children are taking home a couple of gifts, giving them the best possible start to their Christmas holiday.
“The greatest start for our children is knowing that their local community care, and the support of Anglo American and other local businesses highlights that really is the case.”
Anglo American donated almost £2,000 towards the purchasing of the gifts, with a handful of other local businesses also supporting, including Proudfoot Group, Mathewsons and McDonalds.
“Anglo American has a long-term commitment to our local communities and we want to make a lasting, positive impact,” said Gareth Edmunds, Corporate Relations Director at Anglo American.
“We understand how difficult and frustrating the pandemic has been for everyone, particularly for young people, so we were delighted to be able to help Braeburn School purchase Christmas gifts for all their pupils and wish them all a Happy Christmas.”
Anglo American’s offices are a stone’s throw from Braeburn School in Eastfield. The company is the owner of the Woodsmith Mine, under construction near Whitby, which has already created thousands of jobs.
The underground mine will extract polyhalite, for use as a fertiliser, and send it to Teesside for processing and shipping in a 23 mile tunnel. When complete, the mine will be the deepest in Europe but nearly invisible from the surface.