A selfless pupil at a Stoke-on-Trent high school raised £150 for a local homelessness charity last month. 

Josh Swindles, 13, wanted to give back and do something that would have an impact on others - and it's not his first good deed either. 

The serial fundraiser, who is currently in year 9, has supported lots of different initiatives within his local and school community, including Captain Tom's 100 challenge, the Great British Spring Clean and the Coronation's Big Help Out volunteering project. 

This year, to add to his portfolio of good work, Josh decided to support local homelessness charity Concrete, after hearing about their work from a family member. 

His hard work paid off and he raised £150 for the charity's food pantry, which supports people unable to buy essential food and toiletries. 

Dean and Steven from Concrete visited pupils at Blythe Bridge High School last week (Concrete).

Josh said: "Our school values are pride, respect and kindness (PRK), so I always try to work towards those. I'm part of the PRK group at school which uses these values to make improvements and support good causes. 

"This year I knew I wanted to support a local charity and my mum told me about Concrete. She explained the work that they do for people who are homeless and I knew that as a school we could support them." 

"We held a non-uniform day at school. It was just after Christmas, so we said that if you brought in some leftover chocolate – because everyone has that in the New Year - you could wear a jumper or a hoody to school. 

"We used all the chocolate as raffle prizes and a member of staff even created some hampers too. We raffled these off across the whole school community of parents, pupils and staff, to raise money. 

"I feel really proud - I didn't think we'd raise as much as we did. One of the best things was seeing everyone come together and support the fundraising. 

"It also was really interesting to learn about Concrete and find out what a homelessness charity does. I didn't know much about it before, but now I do, and I'd love to support them again." 

Concrete is part of Honeycomb Group, based on London Road, Stoke (Google).

Headteacher Rachael Johnson said the whole school community feel 'really proud' of Josh's efforts.  

She added: "Pride, respect and kindness are our three core values and raising money and doing what Josh has done is the epitome of those values. 

"We're really proud of what he's achieved and we were delighted to see the whole school community come together in such a positive way." 

Staff from Concrete visited the school last week to thank pupils and teach them about the homelessness sector. They answered questions about how the charity supports people facing homelessness, the issue of homelessness in Stoke-on-Trent, their careers and more.  

Operations Manager Dean Marsh said: "It was amazing to visit Blythe Bridge and share what it's like to work in the homelessness sector. The students asked insightful questions which sparked some really positive discussions and helped us break down stigmas. 

"The money raised will go towards our food pantry, which we try to keep fully stocked with essential foods, toiletries and treats for our customers. We want to make sure they have everything they need, even if they can't afford to buy it themselves. 

"Thanks to Josh and his peers, we'll be able to restock the pantry, which will have a huge impact on the people we support." 

Find out more about Concrete by visiting their website.

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