AN Ellesmere Port school has teamed up with Cheshire Oaks to design and create a face covering which is now being sold at the designer outlet.
The masks cost £5 with all proceeds going to the participating school – Cambridge Road Primary.
Cheshire Oaks, owned by McArthurGlen, says the aim of its 'Design a Smile' initiative is to support the local community and highlight the importance of wearing a face covering at the centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The winning design by nine-year-old pupil Sophie – inspired by the fond memories she has of her old pet cat – was chosen by TV presenter and campaigner Katie Piper.
Sophie explained: "When I was younger I had a little black and white cat called Maddie which I loved a lot. We used to sit and cuddle up on the sofa all day.
"The design represents my cat and I wanted to remind myself of all the good times that I shared with it. I would like others to share the happiness that I feel inside when I think about my fond memories with my cat."
The winning design.
Cheshire Oaks centre manager Kenny Murray said: “I have always hugely admired the work that teachers do to shape the future lives of our children, and even more so throughout this challenging past nine months.
"At McArthurGlen, we consider education for all to be of the utmost importance and have welcomed this chance to support the community by giving back to our centre’s local school.
"As we leave lockdown and enter the new localised tier system, we hope that this initiative will also encourage customers to adhere to the Government-recommended health and safety measures in and outside of the centre.
"We thank Cambridge Road Primary School for their support on this exciting initiative and look forward to many more future collaborations.”
As a further thank you to Cambridge Road Primary for their participation in the project – and to the children for their creativity – Cheshire Oaks will also be gifting the school several baby oak trees to plant as a gesture of their ongoing partnership and friendship.
- The face covering can be purchased from the centre's guest services area.
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