Sikh charity donates festive hampers

A Sikh temple in Warwickshire is set to hand out more than 2,000 food parcels and festive hampers to families in need.

The Gurdwara Baba Vadbhag Singh Ji (BVS) Trust in Bedworth has been running its Christmas project since 2019.

Trustee Gurdeep Kaur Sehra said: "Last year, we were able to assist nine schools. This year, the project has expanded considerably, and we are now collaborating with 25 schools."

Every hamper includes a £10 shopping voucher as well as a week's worth of food.

The hampers are packed and delivered by volunteers from the Gurdwara as well as members of the local community.

Ms Sehra said: "Our founder, Mr Kulwinder Singh, he's always wanting to do more and he's got this dream of just feeding the world and it starts from your own area.

"So as we were discussing this, one of the volunteers says 'I work in a school and people do really need help.'"

Ms Sehra said since then the project had become one of Gurdwara's biggest charitable events.

The Gurdwara's Christmas project starts in September when the congregation is asked to make donations in the form of money or goods for the hampers.

"I've lost count of the amount of packages we are providing because the numbers have grown massively since 2019 to now," Ms Sehra said.

"It's just exploded and it's become like a community event now.

"Babaji, so the founder of this establishment, says if you make a child happy you make God happy and here we're touching on so many families and children that are going to just have smiles on their faces."

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