Charity donates school uniforms worth £3,000

School uniform event is a helping hand for parents

Calls for schools to ditch formal uniforms

Rising costs force Send charity to shut centre

Family Voice Peterborough

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The uniforms, donated

Louise Ravenscroft, of FVP, said the charity was seeing a rise in families struggling with the cost of living and "wanted to help alleviate the costs".

Kirsty Knight, independent city councillor for Orton Waterville, who is helping organise the event, thanked the charity for its "incredible act of kindness, which will make a real difference to parents and children in our community".

She said: "As a mother of three, I understand how challenging the cost of school uniforms can be for families, especially during the current financial climate.

"I would also like to thank Lloyd, the owner of Ortongate Sports Bar, for kindly donating the space to host this initiative. His generosity ensures that families in our community can access this support.

"This is about helping parents who are struggling with the costs of essential items for their children. I encourage anyone in need to come along and make use of this opportunity."

FVP aims to improve services in all areas of the lives of children and young people with disabilities or additional needs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Ms Ravenscroft said it was helping at least 30 families with children with special education needs and disabilities every month, with numbers increasing each month.

"There are a lot of concerns with poverty, especially with parents with kids with special needs," she said.

"We get an awful lot of requests for food support. There are a lot of families who are struggling.

"So anything we can do to alleviate their costs, we would absolutely do."

Last month, dozens of parents benefitted from a uniform swap event initiated

Mum-of-two Jessica Harper, who attended, said she had been trying to budget to buy uniforms for her children and that the event was "the perfect opportunity I needed without costing me so much money".

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