Schoolchildren in Nepal have benefitted from the generosity of Baldock residents who have donated their second-hand dresses in a charity drive.

Organised by Baldock-based funeral directors Shires in partnership with international charity House with Heart, the appeal resulted in 72 donations in just one month.

The much-needed clothing was then sent to the House with Heart home for abandoned children in Kathmandu.

House with Heart provides accommodation, education and healthcare for the children, as well as running an outreach programme for local families in need – with the aim of moving women and children out of poverty since 2001.

Currently the organisation has 25 children in its care aged between four and 20, and hope to continue to expand its outreach every year.

Donna Sullivan, community champion at Shires, said: “As a mother, this was a cause particularly close to my heart. It made me very emotional to see the photographs of the children in their dresses.

“It puts things into stark perspective when you realise that you might be hard up, but these children have nothing.

“We try to work with a different charity each month, as building meaningful relationships with the community is an important way to break down negative stereotypes about funeral homes. We work with local, national and international charities.”

Thanks for the overwhelming success of the appeal and the generosity of the Baldock community, House with Heart was also able to donate the extra dresses to other underprivileged children in the area.

The devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 caused the House with Heart facilities heavy damage. However, the charity initiated a capital campaign to raise $200,000 to build a second house in order to increase capacity.

Beverly Bronson, founder of House with Heart, said: “On behalf of all the children, we’d like to say a massive thank you to Shires and the people of Baldock who were involved with the project. It’s made a real difference to the girls to have new dresses fit for the hot weather, and they were delighted to receive a gift from people so far away.”

To find out more or to donate, go to housewithheart.org/index.html.