Winter Coat Campaign helps hundreds of Luton school children

The Winter Coat Campaign was set up by the charity in December, the aim was to raise £3000, which would provide 150 coats.

The target was reached in the first week of the campaign, the team raised £8720, providing 436 warm coats for children.

Katy Hall, Level Trust’s director, said: “We want all children in Luton to have a level start in their education.

“But, sadly, 25% of children in our town live in relative poverty.

“These financial struggles impact families in many different ways, one of which is that children can be disadvantaged at school because of the lack of financial resources at home.

“School is a really important place for children to develop all the skills that they need to be successful in the future.

“This is why we decided to work together to provide some extra help to families this winter time.”

Discover Islam worked with Level Trust on the campaign, Sufian Sadiq, a trustee of Discover Islam, said: “We felt that, with the welfare cuts, this winter was going to be a particularly difficult one for those living below the poverty line.

“The winter coat campaign was something the whole community could come together on and ensure that no child in Luton goes to school this winter without a coat.”

Inspire FM’s Mohammed Tariq raised awareness about the effect of poverty on children across Luton on his show.

He said: “Every year, Inspire FM looks to partner with a local charity for its winter campaign.

“Each year that we do this, I am surprised to learn about the depths of poverty in our own hometown.

“As soon as I heard about Level Trust’s work, we decided that this would be our winter charity partner.

“It is absolutely shocking to know that there are children who go to school every day without appropriate winter clothing.

“Inspire FM and all of its listeners were privileged to be part of this amazing campaign.”

Level Trust aims to remove the barriers that poverty brings to a child’s education, the charity works with schools and families to ensure all children have what they need to do their best at school.

Sufian added: “The project was a huge success, surpassing all expectations. The way in which the community rallied around this cause was humbling to see.

“We are incredibly pleased with the outcome of this project and hope to build on our partnership work with Inspire FM to support Level Trust achieve further success in 2016.”