School uniform collection nets 1500 items

Organised by MySchool and its partner Woolworths, in conjunction with The Clothing Bank, the public was encouraged to donate items such as grey school pants, white shirts, pairs of grey or white socks, grey, black or navy jerseys, blazers or skirts and any other appropriate clothing for young learners were donated and dropped off at collection points in Cape Town.

The collection points were Durbanville Primary School, Kenilworth Centre, CBC St Johns, Customer Services at Canal Walk, Woolworths Canal Walk, Welgemoed Primary School and Rondebosch Boys Preparatory School.

"The project was very successful and we are very pleased to see how learners, parents and staff have opened their hearts and their closets to those in need," says Helene Brand, MySchool marketing manager.

The Clothing Bank collects clothing from retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and the public, then repairs, sorts and distributes clothing to needy communities. The organisation also provides employment for mothers, empowering them through enterprise development.

"We hope that this project has encouraged all schools to start their own 'upcycling' projects at their schools, where they give back to needier schools. We call this a 'twinning strategy'. Just as with the MySchool programme, where every swipe of a MySchool card counts towards the nominated beneficiary, every item counts," concludes Brand.

For more information, go to www.myschool.co.za.