Bio Productions, manufacturer of environmentally-friendly cleaning products based in Burgess Hill is no stranger to filling containers, but this year, it once again added filling Christmas hampers to its philanthropic repertoire. The company doubled its donation to the Burgess Hill Christmas Hamper Project, by funding goodies to fill eight hampers, four more than last year.

Financial Director, Avonia Bridge explained, "As a company we are very community-minded and really wanted to increase our local commitment to this amazing project, which is so valuable for the community at this time of year."

Earlier this month HR Manager, Sara Gibb assisted with filling the hampers on behalf of Bio-Productions. Sara said, "The project is such a fantastic initiative and involves so much hard work from all concerned. It's so cheering to realise that so many local businesses and their employees go the extra mile to help the community at this festive time."

This meaningful project is just the tip of the iceberg as Bio-Productions MD; Angela Gill is extremely passionate about supporting the local community. This ethos filters through to the whole company - some recent activities designed to raise funds for charity include Wear it Pink Day, Colour Rush Obstacle Course, assisting Forest View Care Home with fundraising and supporting the Sussex Air Ambulance crisp packet recycling as well as a host of internal bake offs and themed days designed to raise funds for local causes.

The Burgess Hill Christmas Hamper Project sprung into life back in 1955, with the inception of the Burgess Hill District Lions Club. In those days it was more about a bag of coal and some wood to keep the home fires burning. Things have developed since then and this year the project realised the creation of 300 hampers, bursting with basic food items and festive fare. This worthwhile project aims to help those who are struggling financially by helping their budgets to stretch a little further and add some festive cheer into the bargain.

This year, the project was organised by a group of local organisations including, Burgess Hill District Lions Club, The King's Church Mid-Sussex, Burgess Hill Community Food Bank, Burgess Hill Youth and Burgess Hill Town Council. The scheme is jointly-funded by Burgess Hill District Lions Club, The King's Church Mid-Sussex and Clarion Housing.

The scheme was publicised on Burgess Hill radio by presenters as well as by Tony Parris of Burgess Hill District Lions Club. Following the publicity drive donations were received in abundance and hampers were sorted and filled in early December, for delivery to the lucky recipients on Friday 6 December and Sunday 8 December. Donations were provided by a combination of local schools, colleges, business and individuals and over 30 people were involved in collecting, sorting, filling and delivering the Christmas Hampers.

"The Hamper Project gets better and better each year. It's truly heart-warming to see everyone working as a team to deliver this worthwhile initiative, which makes such a difference to people's lives at this time of year. Each year we are able to deliver more and more hampers and we look forward to continuing this tradition for as long as there's a need in the community." Tony Parris, Burgess Hill District Lions Club.