The Leeds United Foundation forged an important link with Sainsbury's Colton as part of the Temple Newsam Community Partnership recently to support vulnerable youngsters over the festive period.

Staff working under the Premier League Kicks programme at the club’s official charity started discussions with local community projects to see if they would be interested in collaborating on the creation of Christmas activity boxes.

Linking up with the Temple Newsam Community Partnership meant that 140 hampers were able to be made, including Leeds United Foundation activity booklets, Lego sticker books and selection boxes and mince pies donated by Sainsbury's Colton. Ahead of Christmas, these boxes were distributed to vulnerable young people and children throughout the local community that work with or have received support from the Foundation.

Contact with Sainsbury's Colton continued following the initial discussions, with further donations made by the generous staff, including four trolleys full of food to be donated across 50 vulnerable families that are working directly with the Temple Newsam Community Partnership, Social Care and Children Centres along with two full trolleys of toy donations.

The donation of various toys were distributed to young children taking part in the Leeds United Foundation Health Holiday Camps, an initiative lead by the Premier League, where 40 children who may have struggled for food and support over the holiday period were given access to breakfast, lunch and food packages to take home for their families as well as daily activities to keep them healthy and active. 

Natalie Thomas, the Mentoring and Healthy Holidays Project Lead at the Leeds United Foundation, said "The past year has been really tough for everyone and when the plans for our usual Healthy Holidays camps in 2020 were postponed, it meant that a lot of vulnerable children who would have benefitted from the provision, unfortunately missed out.

“Christmas this year was undoubtedly going to be tougher for some families and when the opportunity arose to provide a little bit of Christmas giving, it was something we couldn't let pass us by. The help and donations from Sainsbury's Colton have been overwhelming, and it was so lovely to see that even though current times are difficult, generosity never fades.

“I would like to thank Sainsbury's Colton and Temple Newsam Community Partnership for their help and guidance to get donations out to the families in need. It has definitely been the season of giving."

For more information on the work the Leeds United Foundation do under the Premier League Kicks umbrella, please contact Natalie.Thomas@leedsunited.com.