A CHILDREN’S charity backed by a Comet country school is set to receive thousands of pounds due to volunteers at the Olympic Games.

Kiddies Support Scheme (KISS), which helps children in Uganda and is linked with John Henry Newman School in Stevenage, has teamed up with Rotary clubs across the UK for a project which will see 129 volunteers undertaking housekeeping duties at the Athletes’ Village to help the cause.

Instead of earning �8.30 an hour, the volunteers – a large number of which are former John Henry Newman pupils – will donate the money they stand to make for signing up to 5,537 hours of work to KISS, raising in excess of �45,000 in the process.

During the Games, those involved will be working up close and personal with some of the world’s greatest athletes – cleaning their rooms, making their beds and ensuring their stay in the village is as comfortable as possible.

“It is inspiring to witness such a large group of young people freely giving of their time to raise money for KISS,” said KISS trustee Kate Batterbury, who is coordinating the project.

“They could be doing any number of things with their summer holidays, but they’ve chosen to do this. I think that speaks volumes about the deep goodness of so many of our young people – something you just don’t hear enough about.”

For information about KISS visit www.kiddiessupportscheme.org