Free School Uniform Giveaway Returns To Scarborough This Week

Thousands of free primary and secondary school uniform items will be available to Scarborough families this week as part of an initiative to tackle the cost of living and reduce clothing waste.

Free school clothing will be available to Scarborough families this week.

The Scarborough Uniform Recycle project is opening its doors at Westborough Methodist Church for its final giveaway week of the year.

Thousands of primary and secondary school items, including shirts, trousers, jumpers, cardigans, blazers, PE kits, shoes, and coats, will be offered to the community without any cost.

Sessions will run on Tuesday the 27th of October between 6pm and 8pm, throughout Wednesday the 28th of October with slots at 10am to 12pm, 1pm to 3pm, and 6pm to 8pm, and a final morning session on Thursday the 29th of October from 9am to 11am.

Tom Clayton is one of the organisers for Scarborough Uniform Recycle, he explained the dual purpose of the community project:

"There's two kind of main aims with with what we do. The first is towards helping with the cost of living and trying to reduce costs for families, particularly for school uniform that costs so much. But also, there's an environmental aspect to it as well, trying to stop uh as much clothing as we can from going to landfill, so that it can be reused. Once you're finished with a school uniform, there's not really a lot you can do with it. And if it's you know clean and able to be used again, then we try and make sure that's what happens."

The giveaway is completely free and open to everyone in the community, regardless of their financial situation.

Tom said:

"it really is everybody is is welcome. There's no, there's no means test or anything like that. Everybody is welcome, whether it's to pick up some spare jumpers or little Johnny's lost three pairs of trousers or whatever it might be. Everybody is welcome. We obviously, the uniform that we have is what we have. We can't guarantee sizes, we can't guarantee we've got it, but we do have uniform for most of the schools in Scarborough now, and we certainly have plenty of general wear, so trousers, shirts, dresses, all that kind of thing we've got plenty of."

The project is now entering its fifth year, having originally started as a summer initiative to support the local area.

"Scarborough Uniform Recycle began life one summer. In my capacity working for the Methodist church we were looking for ways we could help, and this came about.

We got some wheelie bins from the council and before we knew it, it absolutely erupted. We were inundated with donations of uniform. And we were able to do our first giveaway that summer.

We're heading into the fifth year now of our of Uniform Recycle. We've been able to help certainly thousands of children, probably pushing towards 3,000 children at least now, that have got some school uniform through us. And it's a joy. It's it really is, and and it's available for everybody. And everybody does come through the doors, which is great."

While the large-scale events at Westborough Methodist Church happen a few times a year, the team also provides ongoing support behind the scenes.

"Our main giveaway events are the focus of what we do. So three or four times a year, we'll have a giveaway event, and we'll basically get all our stuff out. It fills a very large hall with, with things, but through, through the terms, as well, we get requests coming through, often from, perhaps, social workers or domestic abuse workers or various things. Families that that need urgently need some uniform, whatever that might be. So we do we have we do our always do our best to try to fulfill those requests, but the focus remains on giveaway events where when everybody can come along and be part of it."

With winter approaching, volunteers expect higher demand for specific warm clothing and sports gear.

Tom outlined what else parents might find at the event this week:

"PE kit, shoe, shoes, coats as well. is another one that particularly coming into the winter as well. All tend to be pretty popular. We do occasionally get the PE football boots and things like that through as well.

It really is a case of a bit of a pot luck in what's available. But if we have it, then people are welcome to come in and take it. We want to get rid of as much uniform as we possibly can. We have loads and loads. And so that the more people can take, the better.

All the information and everything else is available on our Facebook page, just like Scarborough uniform recycle, and all the dates and times and information about what we're doing is all available there."