From Easter until the end of the summer holidays, Reedham Children's Trust will run a school uniform appeal asking for school uniforms and other school essentials to be donated to support vulnerable children in Croydon. 

In this project, we are specifically supporting vulnerable children whose families do not have the financial means to be able to purchase full uniforms and basic school essentials. 

We would like to provide:

• Uniforms for children of all school ages*
• Coats
• School Shoes
• PE kits and plimsolls

*Please note this is only for Croydon schools

Along with this, we are also hoping to raise funds for:

• Our hardship fund will support young people with travel cards to get to school and any additional extras needed for school.
• Food vouchers, to ensure families can purchase fruits and vegetables, alongside breakfast to ensure a child has healthy food to eat before and after school.

Thank you so much for considering supporting this campaign, this is how you can get involved:

• Donate - click the donate button towards the top of the page, please use the text box provided to stipulate if you would like your donation to go towards uniforms, food, or any of the other items listed.
• Buy online - via our Amazon gift list

If you wish to donate pre-loved items directly please do so at the Croydon Refugee Day Centre on Mondays between 9am-2pm – West Croydon Baptist Church, Whitehorse Road, Croydon, CR0 2JH ([email protected]). Please note, Reedham Children's Trust cannot take physical donations at this time.

If you are a group or company that could collect pre-loved uniforms on our behalf, please contact us.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

One of the beneficiaries of this appeal will be children supported by the Croydon Refugee Day Centre. This is what one mum said to us:

“Staying in a hotel for long has severely impacted the mental health of our children. The lack of tasty and nutritious food not only affects their physical well-being but also contributes to feelings of deprivation and neglect. The passive mood and absence of a sense of belonging exacerbate their sense of isolation and detachment from society. Additionally, the embarrassment they may feel before peers who live more normal lives adds to their psychological distress, further compromising their mental well-being and sense of self-worth.

A new school uniform for a child who is an asylum seeker marks a break away from the feeling that he was marginalised for as long as he was not at school like his peers. It gives him the sense of belonging to a school and to a community after some time of feeling ignored and detached from the society. It brings hope for a better future and makes him feel equal to his peers.”