Changes have been made to Alsager’s long-running school uniform scheme after Alsager Community Support said it could no longer sustain its pre-order and swap services due to a shortage of volunteers.
For years, Alsager Community Support has run a school uniform swap exchange, which has helped many families due to the rising costs of brand-new outfits.
A pre-order system has also been available.
However, as there were only a limited number of volunteers to support the scheme, the pre-order service has been scrapped, as has the school uniform exchange.
A large stock of pre-owned uniform for all Alsager schools, including badged items, is still available, as well as other school wear including PE kit, football boots, shoes and PE bags, etc. A seasonal selection of wellies, coats and Christmas jumpers is also available.
Melisa Dickinson, manager at Alsager Community Support, said: “We have sadly concluded that we are no longer able to offer a pre-order service.
“We have a large volume of stock to process with only a handful of volunteers.
“Having to handpick orders or put items back into stock when they were not collected meant that we were unable to sustain this level of service any longer.
“All items are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The historic swap scheme is no longer be in operation.”
Alsager High School blazers are available for a suggested donation of £5 each and branded sports tops at £3. All other items remain at £1, which Alsager Community Support said was “still fantastic value”.
The Crewe Road support centre welcomes donations of clean, good-quality uniform from all Alsager schools.
Ms Dickinson said: “This helps support local families and reduces landfill. Our uniform recycling scheme is open to everyone.
“All the money that we raise helps to support our work in the community and was spent directly on helping our community to thrive, be it continuing our befriending, shopping and driving services, or in supporting us to pay our overheads, such as rent.
“This ensures that we are able to remain in our premises and keep our drop-in support centre and uniform room open.”
She added: “If you would like to support our work by becoming a uniform volunteer, we would love to hear from you.
“You could message us through our website, our Facebook page, or pop in and see our volunteer coordinator for a chat about how you could get involved. Together we could make local lives better.”
Alsager Community Support is at 19–21, Crewe Road. For more information, phone 01270 876 605 or email info@alsagercommunitysupport.org.uk.
(Photo: Alsager Community Support).
