Christmas Jumper Day for The Wee Hours

Fri December 6, 2024

The Student Council invites all pupils and teachers to wear their best Christmas jumpers on the 6th of December and bring in a £1 donation (unless you’re feeling generous!).

Everything collected will go to a charity called “The Wee Hours” – which aims to help people staying on the streets of Edinburgh. Below is a story from the founder of this amazing charity and we hope this will help spread your generosity.

A couple of months ago a boy and a girl appeared at the breakfast service at my Church, if they were 17 that would be a miracle. The boy had no shoes on and was soaking wet, the girl was in pj’s, a pair of slippers and a shirt buttoned over the top.

During the night they had arrived from Newcastle and two of our regulars got them into a doorway to try to keep them safe until morning. They brought them to the breakfast service as they knew we’d have a few clothes and where to get them help.

That really, really affected me. There are pupils here in school that are older than this pair and it was the kindness of strangers who also had nothing that kept them safe overnight. That’s when The Wee Hours was born.

I decided right there no-one should ever be cold or wet or hungry or feel unsafe overnight. No-one shouldn’t have shoes and have to walk through broken glass and goodness knows what else on the streets. No-one should feel like their dignity is totally gone because they don’t have clean underwear or anything to shower with. No-one.

The Wee Hours aims to supply everything from socks & underwear to cozy jackets, sleeping bags and blankets, to toiletries and water and snacks to anyone in need overnight, particularly at the weekends when the population of rough sleepers rises. We’ve even got dog treats for the furry buddies.

Being homeless or sleeping rough doesn’t have to be scary or miserable, you don’t have to spend all night freezing or soaking wet when there are people ready to help, and that is what I’m trying to do.”

Donna Ewing, our School Bursar and founder of The Wee Hours