£100k grant kickstarts campaign to distribute £1m of school clothes to Manchester children in poverty
Howard Lake | 2 July 2015 | News
The Zochonis Charitable Trust has made a grant of £100,000 towards a campaign to distribute £1 million of school clothes and kit to every child living below the poverty line in Manchester and Salford.
Manchester children’s charity Wood Street Mission plans to raise the remaining funding for SmartStart Manchester and Salford from business and professional firms over four years. It plans to capitalise on the growing Greater Manchester economy, with an estimated 110,000 new jobs predicted over the next decade, all part of the government’s notion of a ‘Northern Powerhouse’.
Roseanne Sweeney chief executive of Wood Street Mission said:
“There are 55,000 children living in poverty in Manchester and Salford. Doing well at school is crucial if they are to grow up and break the cycle of poverty. But too often their parents struggle to afford school costs like uniform and sports kit which negatively impacts on children’s experience of school.”
“We want to grow a fund in partnership with the city’s professional firms and businesses which will help children fit in and achieve in school so they grow up to fulfill their potential and contribute their skills and talents to our growing economy. That’s in everyone’s interest given the high economic and individual cost of child poverty.”
Steve Hayes-Allen, Regional Head Northern UK BNY Mellon, which is helping fund SmartStart Manchester & Salford said:
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“We want to make communities better places in which to live, work and learn. As an employer we draw skills and talents of people from different backgrounds. This scheme will help children be more engaged and reach their full potential.”
The campaign is being launched with a video “Every super hero needs a uniform” which has been made pro bono by Salford-based Creative Production Studio Mi to raise awareness about the impact not having the right school uniform can have on children as part of its campaign.
https://vimeo.com/131105863
The charity helps 7,000 children and 3,000 families living in poverty every year. It launched the new campaign in response to the “significant increase” in the numbers of families seeking help with school costs. It will help families with school goods throughout the year, not just at the start of the school year.
The increase follows a decision this year by Manchester City Council, following central government cuts, for the first time not to provide school uniform grants for year 7 and 10 students. Salford City Council has not provided school uniform grants for some years.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.