Liverpool entrepreneur Kate Stewart’s Liverpool school uniform appeal has raised more than £7,400 in less than a week to help struggling families prepare their children for the new school year.

Kate launched her annual school uniform initiative last week, initially setting a fundraising target of £5,000. The appeal reached that figure in less than three hours, before supporters donated a further £2,400.

The money will be used to provide children across North Liverpool with school uniforms and essential accessories, helping hundreds of families facing increasing financial pressure.

Kate has supported families in some of Liverpool’s most deprived communities for a number of years, drawing on her own experiences of financial hardship.

Around 24 years ago, she was a young single parent herself and remembers the challenges of finding the money needed to support a family.

With household budgets continuing to be stretched by the cost of living, Kate is particularly concerned about parents who are already struggling to afford food and everyday essentials before having to find additional money for uniforms ahead of the new academic year.

Kate said:

“It is a rule set out by Centralgovernment that every child has to wear a school uniform, but it’s devolved to local government and the board of governors at any given school to decide what that uniform shall be. Many schools are working with just one shop or chain who then has the monopoly on the branded uniform displaying the logo for that school and these items are extremely expensive especially when buying for multiple children. Schools could provide parents with iron-on badges if they want the uniforms to be branded or display school logos, which would be a great way to keep costs down for us all. I  adds unnecessary stress to parent and it’s often the children that are suffering and I cannot be aware of this and not do anything about it.”

This year, she is hoping to expand the initiative by encouraging more Liverpool businesses to get involved.

Kate would like to hear from hairdressers, food businesses, stationery suppliers and other local companies that could donate products or services to help children get ready for their return to school.

The aim is to turn the initiative into more of a community “fun day”, bringing families and businesses together while providing some of the practical essentials children need.

Kate added:

“I have seen so many more people struggling with the rising living costs and knowing children are at risk of being bullied, feeling self conscious and anxious, I am enlisting the support of local businesses in order for me to be able to ensure these childrendon’t suffer or feel left behind, so if you can support me with this it would be very appreciated.”

Businesses interested in supporting the appeal, as well as individuals who would like to make a donation, can contribute through Kate Stewart’s JustGiving page.

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