School uniform charity plans fundraising week

A charity which helps support families in Shropshire with the cost of school uniform is planning a week of fundraising.

Little Stars was set up by Leanne Farlie in 2020 and it also collects donations of unwanted uniform.

She said the average cost of a secondary school uniform was about £289, not including shoes, and that was "quite an astronomical cost for a lot of families".

Wear Stars 4 Little Stars Week is due to run between 22 and 28th June.

She is encouraging people to wear something with stars that week, share their photos on social media and make a donation to the charity.

Last year, she said 12 businesses and schools got involved and she hoped to build on that this year.

Farlie said she got started when she was on maternity leave and was trying to find ways to get baby clothes she no longer needed "to those that needed them the most".

On the charity's website, she explained: "Having grown up in the deprived area of Harlescott, I personally experienced financial hardship and witnessed the challenges local families faced. I knew, without a doubt, that our community would benefit immensely from such a service."

She said it had evolved and last year moved into its own premises in Shrewsbury - she said that had been a "game changer" and it needed to have space of its own because of the growing demand.

In 2023, it launched a Cool for School Campaign, which has supplied more than 900 children across Shropshire with uniform essentials.

Farlie said she was grateful for all the donations the charity received, but it was not enough.

In addition, items such as white polo shirts were rarely donated and she needed funding to be able to buy them.

The weeks before the summer holidays were always busy, she said.

She explained: "It is the time when families see the increase in cost because all of a sudden their son's had a growth spurt or their daughter's had a growth spurt."

Families on already-tight budgets could find the extra cost a real struggle as a result.

She also said she found the work really rewarding.

"As a founder to see people getting behind the work that I do, it is really heartwarming and overwhelming to see the belief that people have," she said.

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