Background

In late 2015, we were working in Southend in a voluntary group, sending clothing donations to vulnerable families abroad. The group was approached by a local school PTA member, who needed a winter coat and some basic clothing for a pupil whose parent was struggling. The group leader provided these and more but the group was only temporary.

We wondered if a permanent existing service was out there to help in this sort of situation, but through research we learned that there wasn’t. We learned that over 12,000 children in Southend are classed as living in poverty*, despite pockets of the town being extremely affluent. We know that children in poverty face many problems and we can’t solve them all, but we have an idea for this one.......

What is Packed with Smiles? Where’s the money going?

We’ve set up our own voluntary group, which will become a registered charity in due course, called Packed with Smiles (PWS). We will deliver parcels of uniform to children via their school.

We’re piloting the idea by giving ten parcels to one school in August, that will be passed on by the school ready for the new school year in September 2018.

Each parcel costs £120 (hence our target of £1,200 for ten parcels). We’ve donated the first £500, so we’re really looking for £700 from you lovely lot.

The parcels contain;

Day to day uniform (2 jumpers, 2 shirts, 2 skirts or trousers, a weeks worth of socks or tights, a £30 voucher for a good quality properly fitted pair of shoes, a coat and a school backpack). They also include a full PE kit, trainers, wellington boots and all important personalised name labels, so things don’t get lost!

What’s next?

We hope the parcels deliver practical help and, a sense of self-worth. We know that feeling ‘dressed for success’ matters and feeling unequal to your peers can be a distraction from getting the most from school. We hope that receiving a brand new full set of uniform packed especially for them, will help children feel great and better able to focus on school. Our pilot school has already told us the parcels are going to help hugely.

If the pilot makes a measurable difference, we will continue with setting up Packed with Smiles as a charity, fundraise more and expand the offer to more schools in the future.

* See http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/poverty-in-your-area-2018/ for the figures on child poverty in Southend on Sea.