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Harlow College students' charity shop raised £472 at weekend



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Students raised money for local family

  • The charity shop was open Friday 18th and Saturday 19th March
  • In the Harvey Centre, on the first floor next to Choice
  • Raising funds for special tricycle for 11 year old Charlotte Lynch

Harlow College students studying Travel & Tourism and Public Services once again excelled themselves raising funds for a local charity over the weekend of 18th and 19th March when they raised in excess of £470 towards a special tricycle for 11 year old Charlotte Lynch.

Every year the students are challenged by their Principal to raise funds for a charity of their choice and are encouraged to do so in a way that assists them in their courses at Harlow College.  The students were able to enable a practical understanding and gain valuable experience on their courses by opening a charity shop for two days on the second floor of the Harvey Shopping Centre in Harlow.

The students collected unwanted gifts, clothes, books, CDs, DVDs and other household goods in order to raise money for Charlotte Lynch, a local 11 year old whose family will benefit enormously from a special needs tricycle to help her in day to day life.  Indeed Mrs Lynch was full of praise for their efforts on Friday when she and her daughter attended the opening of the store along with Harlow MP Robert Halfon.

Mrs Lynch, “The students are fantastic in working really hard to put themselves out for us.  This will make a huge difference to Charlotte who doesn’t have the confidence to get on a normal bike, but the special needs tricycle makes her feel secure and she is really excited about being able to get one.  We are extremely grateful for the amazing work the students are doing.”

Robert Halfon MP also praised the work of the students saying he was pleased to be at the opening of the shop, “Harlow College is central to the community in Harlow and it is great the students have done so much for Charlotte.”

The students set themselves a target of £1000 and are delighted by the support of Harlow’s shoppers to do the best they can to help. In fact the students were still selling to the public who were keen to help on Monday when they were clearing the shop of the last remaining unsold stock.

Harlow College Principal, Colin Hindmarch said, “The college is very grateful to the Harvey Centre for its support in an initiative that is not only very important for Charlotte but is of real importance to the Travel and Public Service students.  The students enjoyed the experience immensely and it developed and highlighted many interpersonal skills that they were pleasantly surprised to find they had.  We would like to thank everyone who donated goods and those who manned the shop.”

Bryan Young, Centre Manager of the Harvey Centre said, “Once again we are delighted to have been able to help the hard working, talented and enthusiastic students of Harlow College as they worked to raise funds for a well-deserving local cause.  We look forward to supporting them in the future and perhaps to seeing some of them joining our retailers at the Centre.”