STOKE-ON-TRENT charity The Hubb Foundation and Staffordshire digger giant JCB have this week launched a unique partnership to ensure thousands of vulnerable children across the city have free half-term holiday activities throughout the year.
The three-year £375,000 partnership will fund 1,000 activity places every half term in February, May and October at up to 35 Stoke-on-Trent schools and fund a marketing post for three years.
The ‘Hubb Holidays’ scheme, which runs throughout the week, will see schools supporting children who will benefit most from attending activities and experiences ranging from sports clubs and treasure hunts to poetry workshops and fun STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) themed sessions.
Launching the scheme were 50 children at St Mary’s Primary School, Tunstall, who enjoyed a morning of STEM workshops run by teachers, trusted activity providers and JCB apprentices, as well as English enrichment sessions with Pep the Poet, computer coding with ComputerXplorers and a JCB digger experience. The activities were followed by a healthy free lunch.
The partnership completes the full cycle of school holiday activities ensuring youngsters from age 4 to 16 have wraparound holiday support for the entire year – with the Government HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) programme funding the main Easter, Summer and Christmas breaks.
The Hubb Foundation Chief Operating Officer Adam Yates said: “In Stoke-on-Trent more than 19,000 children are classed as living in absolute poverty. Since our charity launched in 2018, the programme has made a massive difference to the city’s most vulnerable children raising their aspirations, providing hundreds of thousands of healthy meals and starting to drive great social change.
“The JCB partnership is a real gamechanger and will ensure that every school holiday can be a happy, fun and healthy experience for those most in need across the city. We also know it will be an absolute lifeline for parents too.”
The partnership between JCB and the Hubb Foundation began during the first Covid‑19 lockdown in 2020, when chefs at JCB’s World HQ in Rocester prepared 35,000 meals for the charity to deliver to vulnerable families across Stoke‑on‑Trent. Over the past four years, the two organisations have also collaborated on JCB’s annual Christmas Toy Appeal, with the Foundation distributing almost 6,000 donated gifts from JCB employees to disadvantaged children throughout the city.
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “We are delighted to support the incredible work of The Hubb Foundation with a £375,000 donation over the next three years. JCB employs more than 1,700 people from Stoke-on-Trent at its six Staffordshire factories, so the city and its people play a big part in our company’s success. JCB is a family company so it’s important to us that all children across Stoke-on-Trent have the very best start in life and have the confidence to aim high, not least because they could be our apprentices and employees of the future.”
To find out more about The Hubb Foundation visit www.thehubbfoundation.com and for more information about JCB in the community visit https://www.jcb.com/en-GB/explore/insight/.
ENDS
For further information contact: Joanne Hine, Communications Officer, The Hubb Foundation. Tel: 07811 744445. E-mail: hello@joannehine.co.uk
Picture captions:
Hubb launch full group: Industry and education come together as JCB and The Hubb Foundation celebrate the start of the Hubb Holidays partnership at St Mary’s Primary School, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent. Pictured with children from St Mary’s Primary School are left to right: The Hubb Foundation School Relationship Manager Tana Owen, St Mary’s Primary School’s Deb Challenger, Hubb Foundation Chief Operating Officer Adam Yates and Hubb Foundation Chairperson Jane Sawyers and JCB apprentices George Lowe, Kitty Hulme, Muqi Saleem and Kelly Morton.
Hubb launch kids only – Half term fun: children from St Mary’s Primary School, Tunstall celebrate the launch of The Hubb Foundation and JCB Hubb Holidays programme.
Hubb 2: St Mary’s Primary School pupil Olivia (aged 5) enjoys the first Hubb Holidays session.
Hubb 3: Under starter’s orders – JCB Apprentice George Lowe (19) with St Mary’s Primary School children
Hubb 4: St Mary’s Primary School pupils Frankie (aged 3), Harper (aged 5) and Mia (aged 5).
Hubb 5: JCB apprentice George Lowe (19) serves up a healthy meal to St Mary’s Primary School children.
Hubb 6: Digger fun at St Mary’s Primary School for Junaid (aged 5) and Okkola (aged 3)
Hubb 7: Funtime in a JCB digger for St Mary’s pupils Harper (aged 5) and Yusif (aged 5
NOTES TO EDITORS:
In Stoke-on-Trent more than a third of the population are classed in the 10% most deprived in England. More than 19,000 children are classed as living in absolute poverty. (Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council)
Founded by Carol Shanahan OBE, The Hubb Foundation is an independent and socially-inclusive charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and families in Stoke-on-Trent by fighting hunger, improving physical and emotional well-being, raising aspirations and fostering resilience.
Since its foundation in 2018, it has delivered more than one million meals to vulnerable and disadvantaged children and their families through various projects. It also delivers:
- Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme – a free-of-charge school holiday scheme. Over the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays it offers 40,000 sessions that provide activity, enrichment and food for vulnerable children and families in schools and community venues across the city. Funded by the Department for Education, The Hubb Foundation partners with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to deliver HAF.
- Life-enriching HAF activities include: a fully-funded French ski trip for 20 Year 6 children, trips to Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Stanley Head Outdoor Education Centre, activities such as archery, acting, dance and drama workshops, canoeing, beatboxing and DJ workshops, ceramic modelling, horseriding multi-sports forest school sessions and fun nutritional education sessions.
- Hubb Pots – supporting and enabling more than 2,000 families to create healthy meals by providing free air fryers and slow cookers, recipe books and food vouchers/ingredients to disadvantaged families as well as teaching cookery skills. This is funded by The National Lottery, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Dept. For Work and Pensions, Household Support Fund.
- A host of other projects including: community venue improvements, schemes to help children navigate the huge step of transitioning from primary to secondary education, and PhD research into the educational and social impact of holiday intervention and providing food for disadvantaged families.
Featured post image: Hubb Launch Full Group
