Primary school organises big event to help the homeless using old crisp packets

It all started when the William Alvey teaching assistant Sam McKenna delivered five home-made blankets created from recycled foil crisp packets to Grantham food bank for them to distribute throughout the local community.

Sam said she was inspired to help: “It all started in the dining hall with Year 3. I folded a crisp packet into a triangle for a child, then they all started asking me to fold theirs. After a while I was folding so many!

"So, I did some research on things we could do with them, that’s when I came across the Crisp Packet Project. I decided to collect the crisp packets instead of folding them and I told the children I was going to make something out of their packets.”

Sam brought in the first Bivvy to show the children what she had made and explained what it would do for someone. The response was amazing so they spread the word around the school and everyone got involved. Sam was initially aiming to make one, but they saved so many crisp packets Sam could make four more.

Sam added: “It felt amazing to see the whole process through. Something that would have ended up in landfill now has a new purpose. Not just that, but it could potentially change the life of someone on the brink.”

Staff and children have been busy saving crisp packets and Sam has skilfully turned them into Bivvys. Not only has it given new life to potential waste but they will now help people who have very little.

This project has since snowballed and the school are aiming to donate several more when they bring the local community together in Sleaford and Grantham to make and donate bivvys to help the homeless in the area. On Thursday July 18, children, staff and parents are aiming to make as many blankets for the homeless as possible.

The school has continued to collect more crisp packets for the big event. On the day, volunteers will be preparing crisp packets and then several people will be joining them all together to make a Bivvy. It will be a massive team effort involving children, staff and people from the community.

Volunteers will iron crisp packets collected and washed by the children. Please call the school office on 01529 302772 if you can help.

Any loans of irons, ironing boards and extension leads would also be very much appreciated by the school.

The Crisp Packet Project aims to give new life, new purpose, a new beginning to used plastic waste, to bring people together to make and create items which help people, and to send survival items to people who have nothing.

Visit: https://crisppacketproject.com/