This year the senior school is supporting the Treehouse; a local charity situated in Holt that aims to help vulnerable children and adults within the community. Charity events will be organised by the Gresham’s Charity Committee with the aim of raising money to go towards a low wheelchair-accessible treehouse as well as a sensory garden where the treehouse will be situated.

The Treehouse operates a zero-waste eco-friendly cafe, a community fridge for vulnerable families and organises various workshops for children. The amount of work that they do ranges from: workshops for vulnerable adults and children, music lessons, supporting women who suffer from postnatal depression as well as children with speech and language difficulties. Their cafe serves freshly ground coffee, delicious cakes and light lunches whilst offering a warm and friendly environment for visitors. A community garden is a place where fresh produce can be grown and gardening sessions can be hosted which offers a large open space for families to spend their time at. The services they provide will really help people who need it and make a genuine difference to the lives of many vulnerable people within the community.

A group of Gresham’s pupils have already volunteered for the charity earlier in the year and have started to dig up the ground for the sensory garden. Our donations and support will be invaluable to the newly established charity, especially considering that their work was halted by the lockdown in March. Although unnoticeable initially, Holt is considered a ‘blackspot’ for childhood poverty and the area has the second highest rate in the county. Therefore, the committee’s efforts in supporting The Treehouse, whose main goal is to tackle this, are really important.

In support of The Treehouse and the many people that they impact, the Gresham’s Charity Committee would really appreciate your invaluable support in aiding to further such a vital cause within the Holt Community. The committee has set up a JustGiving page where parents and the Gresham’s family can contribute towards donations that will go towards the sensory garden and The Treehouse. They would really appreciate your contributions and they can be made at: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/greshamsandthetreehousecafe.

The charity committee will dedicate time throughout the year to plan and publicise events and schemes to raise money for The Treehouse.  They meet as a group each Friday afternoon and use this time to plan for the weeks ahead.  The members of the committee are as follows:  Shahd Abdelrahman (O), Esme Siddall (E), Amy Garrod (E), Joshua Anthony (H), Hugo van Vradenburch (H), George Beeson (H) and Charlie Howard (W).  Keep your eyes peeled for further details of the work that they get up to.