How to take the expense out of school uniforms
I am very proud to say my friend has come up with this genius idea and it is going down a storm here in Newcastle upon Tyne…
Charlene Paterson is a Mam of 3 so she knows just how expensive school uniforms can be and the pressure it puts on us in time for the new term come September.
Many schools allow only branded uniform which can be much more expensive than a supermarkets plain generic uniform – this adds even more expense onto parents, many of which can’t afford.
Charlene found herself about to throw away a mountain of out-grown school uniform at the start of the summer holidays, she had a thought: why not share the clothes her children could no longer fit into with families struggling to buy new outfits for their youngsters?
Charlene put out on an appeal on Facebook asking other parents if they would like to get involved and donate their child’s old uniform, she wasn’t prepared for the response she was about to receive.
Parents across the city were offering their child’s old school uniform and Charlene now had tons to give away!
Charlene said: “I’ve had absolutely loads of uniform, I’ve been massively surprised by how generous everyone’s been. Uniform can be a really big expense, and with benefits cuts and job losses, it’s really difficult, if you’ve got two kids, maybe four kids and you can’t afford the clothes, you have to send them in old uniform, or nothing, it’s a non-negotiable expense. That has to stop.”
Charlene contacted a local youth activity centre, Kids Kabin, and arranged to borrow their space for a drop-in session on Tuesday, August 30.
Anyone who wants can visit the Kabin and help themselves to whatever they need for their children for the coming year.
Charlene has said in an ideal world she would love to see this rolled out across the UK – maybe you would be up for the challenge of setting up your own local drop in?
The demand has been very high but Charlene is enjoying helping the community and asks if anyone would still like to get involved then please e-mail her on [email protected]
I think that this is a great idea, although you can still take the expense out of embroidery. We signed our school up tp tesco uniforms, the schools get 5% cashback on every order it takes a couple of weeks but the quality is good and lasts all year too and it isn’t heavy on the pocket.