A YORK woman has “mountains” of school uniforms in her driveway to give away to families in need.
Tracey Deacon, from Acomb, has 300 boxes of school uniforms, collected through donations to her food bank, Danebury Drive Community Foodbank, in her driveway ready for families who are struggling to pay for them to drop by and collect.
The uniforms are hung up and labelled on her driveway, at 111 Danebury Drive, Acomb, YO26 5HA, and are mostly generic pieces of uniform, such as trousers, white shirts, PE kits and shoes, although some do have school logos.
The donations have all been cleaned and organised into ages, between three to 16, sizes and sexes with the help of her volunteers from the Church of Latter Day Saints in Acomb.
The uniforms have been displayed on her driveway since yesterday (Thursday, August 25), and will be out until Sunday (August 28).
Whatever is left over will be taken to the Latter Day Saints church in Acomb, and will still be available for anybody to collect.
Tracey, who was previously a childminder in Acomb for 20 years, said: "Anybody is welcome to come and get them - and please do get the next size up too as kids grow so fast.
“Everybody is struggling and panicking right now, families are having to choose between paying to feed their kids or pay for school uniforms.
"I’m lucky and I'm ok now, but I’ve been a single parent and I know what its like – my son is now 25 but I remember how easily he’s get holes in his school trousers as a kid.
“People have been so generous and kind with their donations.”
Tracey began the Danebury Drive Community Foodbank three years ago as she says there was little help available to vulnerable people in Acomb during the lockdown.
The food bank began in her driveway and has since expanded to a community Whattsapp group of volunteers helping to deliver food packages to those in need.
They have now applied for government funding to help expand their premises.
People donated school uniforms their children had grown out of to the food bank and Tracey has since boosted the drive for them as the school summer holidays draw to a close.
Tracey’s volunteers have signed confidentiality agreements to keep the identities of those receiving the donations anonymous, and has received visits from the City of York council, who she says has been “incredible”, health visitors and social workers.
To find out more more about the Danesbury Drive Community Foodbank, click here.
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