Christmas can be a particularly difficult time for families who are financially vulnerable. Most of us take for granted being able to buy ingredients for a special meal at Christmas, but for some families in our community having a Christmas meal competes with essential living expenses and it becomes unobtainable.

The Christmas Hamper initiative is targeted at local families whose children attend our village schools - Wheatley Primary, The Park and John Watson schools - and who are eligible for free school meals.

Each hamper contains the ingredients to cook a traditional Christmas meal for 4-6 people. We source the food from local suppliers and stores and rely on the kindness of our army of volunteer drivers to deliver the hampers to each family on December 23rd.

But we couldn't do this without the financial donations that come in every year from generous donors within our community. Each hamper costs around £50 to buy, but any amount that you can afford to donate will help.

The initiative really does make a difference, as illustrated by this message from one of the 110 families we supported last year: