A north-east church has praised the success of a school uniform bank initiative which helped to clothe more than 100 kids for free.
The second-hand uniform scheme, launched by the Assembly of God (AOG) Central Church in Fraserburgh, came to the aid of dozens of families last week.
Items no longer needed by families were distributed to other children in the town for free.
Last night AOG’s associate pastor Danny Murphy said: “It was great – 115 children now have uniforms which is fantastic.
We’re really pleased with the uptake and it obviously shows there is a need in the community.
“It was predominantly for primary school kids, so a lot of the donations that came in through the church were people with younger children. We had quite a few donations where people had gone out and bought new items of clothing as well.
“A lot of the stock went but some is left over which we’ll keep in reserve to use on a future date.”
When AOG first announced the project, it was praised as an innovative community idea but was also used as an indicator of the levels of deprivation being felt by some households.
Mr Murphy said the AOG’s focus was on helping people rather than making a social statement: “Our heart was in trying to help parents because with more than one child it can be an expensive time of year buying school uniforms. We are aware some
people in the community struggle more than others and it was about trying to meet that need.”
When the uniform bank opened last week, local councillor and former school teacher Charles Buchan said the school uniform bank was an unfortunate sign of the times.
He added: “Some people are facing very difficult decisions, they have to make choices all down the line. It’s difficult if you’ve got a comfortable income to empathise with the sort of decisions some people have to make.”
Mr Buchan, vice-chairman of the local authority’s education committee, said the cost of school uniforms had “always been a bit of a problem” when incomes are low.