KCOM staff have dug deep for a charity helping families struggling with the cost of school uniforms.
Emma Hardy, Susie Steel from Re:Uniform and Louise Babych from KCOM
Employees at the East Yorkshire-based broadband provider set up a JustGiving Page earlier this year to raise money for Re:Uniform, a charity that provides school uniform for families across Hull who cannot afford to buy it.
Contributions from KCOM staff flooded in, raising a total of £680, and the company agreed to donate a further £1,000 which will now be used to buy new items of uniform and much-needed storage facilities for the charity, which is based at Hull’s Trinity Methodist Church.
Neil Bartholomew, Managing Director KCOM Retail, said: “With the cost of living crisis affecting so many people across our area, the added pressure of buying new school uniform would have made life extremely difficult for a lot of families.
“That’s why our staff wanted to do what they could to help by starting a JustGiving page. As a business that’s committed to the communities we serve, we were delighted to match fund what our people raised and we hope the final donation will help support those families and children who needed a helping hand.”
Re:Uniform coordinator Susie Steel said the donation would make a big difference to the charity and the families it helps.
She said: “This is the biggest donation we’ve ever had and it will be a game changer for us. It will enable us to do so much more.
“Re:Uniform is here for anyone with a HU postcode and this money will help us fill in some of the gaps we have – usually for bigger children’s sizes – where we haven’t had anything donated that fits the bill and we’ve had to turn people away.
“Now we’ll be able to buy new uniform and buy some storage that will help us organise better.”
In the busy weeks before the start of the autumn term the charity was distributing thousands of bags of quality donated uniform to children attending schools around the region. And even as schools head towards half-term the need for uniform among many families remains pressing.
The volunteer-run charity, which supports youngsters attending any schools with a Hull postcode, has collection points around the region, including Morrisons in Anlaby and Holderness Road, Co-Op in Cottingham, Hall Road Tesco, and Sainsbury’s in Hessle.
Emma Hardy, MP for Hull West and Hessle, who helped found the charity after hearing distressing stories of mothers skipping meals to pay for school uniform and has been an active campaigner for change ever since, said: “The cost of living continues to bring hardship for a lot of people and parents having to find the extra cash for uniform can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
“The Re:Uniform project does a brilliant job helping people when they have nowhere left to turn. The donation from KCOM is hugely welcome and will make a real difference.”
For more details about Re:Uniform or to find out how you can help, visit its Facebook page here.