(Pictured left to right: Maesteg School Uniform Swap Shop volunteer Suzanne with organisers Lynne and Tom Beedle and Tom Giffard MS)
Tom Giffard MS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for South Wales West visited the Maesteg School Uniform Swap Shop in St David's Church, Maesteg. Organised by Tom and Lynne Beedle, the project that began in 2019 is now in its fourth year of supporting local families with the school uniform needs.
Running from the church every Monday, this pop-up shop offers residents the opportunity to swap their children's school uniform items for the next size up or come in and pick up some pre-loved uniform for free. All donated items are quality checked as 'fit-to-wear' and cleaned ready for their new owner.
Tom Giffard MS said "Great to visit the Maesteg School Uniform Swap Shop run by Tom & Lynne Beedle. This fantastic community asset is open every Monday at St. David's Church.
It was great to visit and see the project in action. The dedicated volunteers shared that the shop has been really busy as many people are currently feeling financial pressures and can't afford to pay out for a whole new uniform, even this morning they had people arriving before they had even opened the doors.
They have found that the local comprehensive school uniform has been popular, with the whole change of a new uniform being needed for kids moving up to a new secondary school.
School Uniform Swap Shops such as this are a fantastic way to support local families to both save money and protect the environment, and I would really like to see more being done to set-up and support these sustainable projects in our communities and across Wales.
The Maesteg School Uniform Swap Shop stocks uniforms for all the schools in the Maesteg area so if you are local just pop in and the team are happy to help!"
