Uniform swap shop partnership helping families during summer
A city council has teamed up with a church to help parents looking for help with school uniforms ahead of the start of term.
St Columba’s United Reformed Church in Finchfield in Wolverhampton has been running a uniform swap shop since the summer of 2019, when it started with just a few rails of clothing, but by last summer was handling 1.1 tonnes of clothing.
Wolverhampton Council has partnered with St Columba’s to help even more families this summer by enabling parents and children to drop off unwanted uniforms at Yo! Wolves events throughout the summer holidays.
Swap Shop co-ordinator Ros Shaw, who first started the initiative at St Columba’s, said parents can drop into the church throughout the school holidays on Sunday afternoons to select any uniform they might need for their children for the new term.
She said: "Everyone is welcome and while it is great if parents can bring some uniform to donate themselves, they really don’t have to bring anything.
"We’re open to everyone and there’s a great range of uniforms available.
"Children grow out of uniform and school kit so quickly it makes complete sense to pass it on to another family, who can still get a lot of wear out of it.
"It’s great to be partnering with the council and Yo! Wolves this summer so we can reach and help even more families with what can be a huge expense for them at this time of year."
Acting Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Simkins said: ‘This is a great scheme and I congratulate St Columba’s on providing such a worthwhile service.
"I’m so glad we’ve been able to join up with them this summer, so we can help extend this scheme to families all over the city through our Yo! Wolves activities.
"School uniform can put a real strain on family budgets at the best of times and during the on-going cost of living crisis we know this is just another thing that families are struggling to afford and is one of the many ways as a council we’re trying to help."
People can drop into St Columba’s in Castlecroft Road in Finchfield every Sunday afternoon during the holidays between 12pm and 2.30pm to see the uniforms on offer and every Friday during the school term 3.15pm until 6pm.
To find out more about the uniform swap shop, go to facebook.com/StColumbasWolverhampton.
