Call goes out for Te Puke High School uniform donations

Leah Nesbit has put the call out for Te Puke High School uniforms to be passed on to whānau in need. Photo / Supplied

Discovering one of the reasons students gave for skipping school was not having the correct uniform got Te Puke’s Leah Nesbit thinking.

Leah is the Graeme Dingle Foundation’s local Project K and Career Navigator Programme co-ordinator.

“Last year, students within our programme at the [Te Puke High] school reported to us that one of the reasons why they weren’t at school as frequently as they could be was that they didn’t have the correct uniform and their parents couldn’t afford to get the items that they needed,” she says.

“I think it’s really sad when it’s really basic stuff and that’s a reason for them not to be there.”

She says she decided to be more proactive in the lead-up to the new school year and to collect uniforms that were no longer needed so they could be passed on.

“We know that lots of the students are changing uniforms from junior to senior, so we know there will be people who can’t afford to get that senior uniform, but also the people that are getting the new uniforms now have a junior uniform that they don’t need so we want to repurpose those.”

She says the idea is to just pass on the uniforms to those that need them.

“We don’t want to make any kind of profit from it — we just want students to be in school and families to not have to struggle.”

She says all she is asking is that the uniforms are still in good enough condition to be worn at school.

Anyone with uniforms they are prepared to donate can contact Leah at leah.nesbit@dinglefoundation.org.nz