HARVEST is in full swing and homeless charity Harp has been receiving donations from the smallest of supporters.

Ducklings Pre-school, in Rayleigh Road, Leigh, and the Trinket Box Pre-School, in Greenways, are the first pre-schools to donate to the charity this harvest.

Both centres work with children aged between two and five and believe that it is important for them to be pro-active within the community.

Annabel Topley, manager at the Trinket Box Pre-School, said: “We like to help different charities as we are a charity ourselves. We try and reach out to the community and help where we can.”

Both pre-schools have been talking to the children about homelessness and how they can help, and the children have been bringing in donations over the past few weeks.

Harp provides more than 60,000 meals a year across their services and rely heavily on the donations they receive at harvest time.

Community fundraiser Lisa Walton said: “We are always thrilled to hear from schools, colleges and community groups who collect for us but the addition of pre-schools this year has been really heart-warming. Homelessness may be complex, but learning to be kind to one another and work together to create a better community can be taught from any age, as our youngest supporters have shown.

“It was a pleasure to meet these wonderful children and we would like to extend our thanks to their families and the staff at the pre-schools for supporting Harp.”

If you have donations or would like to volunteer for Harp call 01702 615000 for more information or visit harpsouthend.org.uk.

Last week, the Echo told how Essex Letting Angels volunteered their time and skill to give Harp’s new charity shop a much-needed facelift. The store in Eastwood Road North, Leigh, will soon be opening its doors to the public. The letting agents donated the time and expertise of their maintenance team who spent the week painting the shop.