Families struggling again during the latest lockdown
As we experienced back in April 2020, the closing of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic has devasting impacts for vulnerable children. Millions of people are in households where someone has been forced to skip meals and food banks are currently struggling with a huge rise in demand.
The third lockdown is a devastating reminder that sometimes school is the only safe place many kids have - the only place they are safe from abuse and the only place they eat proper meals. Although we hope all schools re-open soon, the reality is that lockdown is expected to last until mid-February at the very earliest.
Schools, pastoral care and social services all provide support for vulnerable children in the UK. However, measures recently introduced by the government, such as free school meal vouchers, are once again taking time to reach children, leaving many children in a perilous situation.
YesTax was formed as a business for good and we work on the assumption that business can play a critical role in improving lives. Every time we do business, we give 2.5% of our turnover to fund projects close to our heart. The owners of YesTax are all parents of young children and we feel compelled to help at this unprecedented time. This week, one of our directors took part in a collaborative effort to ensure vulnerable families received food. The school received several phone calls of thanks following the deliveries and one message really brought it home to us.
“Since being furloughed money has been really tight. We don't have anything left. You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you.”
The headmistress at the school commented
“When I say that many of our families can't even gather loose change in the house to buy an extra loaf, I speak with knowledge of the reality many face.”>/i>
What we see is something that those on the inside of the school gates have always known: that all staff in schools work relentlessly hard for the kids.
All of us at YesTax would like to express our huge thanks to our colleagues, clients and referral partners for playing your part and enabling us to support vulnerable families during lockdown.