Local schools in South Lanarkshire have been reaching out to support those facing hardship during the coronavirus response.
The 26 hub schools and nurseries in South Lanarkshire are playing their part in supporting children of key essential workers as well as providing help to their communities.
But they are not alone. As previously reported technical staff in a number of secondary schools are involved in manufacturing protective masks for health and care workers with others active in volunteering and helping local people and families.
Depute Head Teacher at Calderside Academy in Blantyre, Jim Monaghan, recognised the impact measures to slow the spread of the virus were having on the wellbeing of some families.
He said: “While our school building i closed we remain in contact with our pupils and their families through online resources and we wanted to find a way to help those who are struggling the most.
“We also wanted to do something that had a social element, connecting people and boosting morale."
Working with his colleagues, Jim used apps to set up a remote quiz and a just giving page for fundraising and they have already collected over £1,300 for Hamilton District Foodbank.
At Calderwood Primary, one of the hub schools, staff could see that while they were doing a vital job in providing childcare for key essential workers, there was an increasing need for support for families in the community.
Senior Pupil Support Manager Frances Swinburne said: “We were hearing first-hand stories about families facing real hardship with Rutherglen and Cambuslang food banks closed and the current situation impacting on work and pay, so we decided to act.
“With fantastic support from the volunteer staff working in Calderwood and the generosity of the wider community we have been able to start distributing food parcels to those most in need.
"We are really grateful to all who have helped and indeed are also grateful to be able to help others”.
The team at Calderwood were also able to supply the other hub schools in Cambuslang and Rutherglen with parcels of non-perishable food to support local families.
St Columbkille’s Primary, not one of the hubs, realised that they had a supply of food in the school collected for the local food bank.
Head Teacher Andy Gray said: “With the food bank closed we could not donate it but we heard of a local family who were really struggling and were able to offer them some supplies to help them through.
“Our dinner lady wanted to do more and also prepared a grab-and-go meal for the whole family."
For the latest information on the council's response to COVID-19 please go to the dedicated page on the council's website.