What is Social Flock?
Social Flock is a community clothing charity. We aim to mitigate the impact of poverty and reduce our community’s reliance on fast fashion by providing FREE clothing packs of pre-loved and new clothing.
We're looking for funds to secure the fulfilment of 500 Back to School and 100 Back to Nursery Packs AND help us keep our School Uniform Bank open throughout the year so all children of Perthshire can turn to Social Flock for School Uniform support whenever they need it.
Our Back to School packs include up to 3 shirts, 2 bottoms, 2 jumpers/cardis, 2 PE t-shirts, 2 PE bottoms, a PE jumper and a school bag. We also aim to include school shoes and/or trainers plus stationery and other back to school essentials like pack lunch boxes. Everything a child needs for taking part in their school journey.
Our Nursery Packs contain 5 days worth of mix and match outfits for children attending any Perthshire nursery, no matter what their clothing size is. This is our first year running the project and we're really excited to expand this service to include younger children.
Packs are personalised to each schools colours and the child’s style preferences (so you can tell us if they won’t wear shorts, or will only wear cardigans!) and their sensory needs to make sure the packs are made to suit the individual. We also ask for bag colours and characters and aim to match up to their personal style.
Who can apply to for a School Pack?
We believe in making our projects as accessible as possible so if you live in Perthshire attend a local Nursery, Primary or High School, and wear clothing you can apply, and all applications are successful.
This means anyone impacted by the Cost of Living Crisis, or interested in being more climate aware, can apply no matter their income.
Everyone is feeling the pinch right now and a pack of uniform really helps with 58% of carers saying their 2023 pack improved their mental health and over 52% stating it made their children excited to return to school.
Where will my money go?
We are fundraising to source any items we can't source through donations, and running costs for our School Uniform Bank to stay open throughout the year to continue this community-led project. We support anyone who wears clothing and might find it hard to replace uniform.
Why is this important to our local community?
Environment and Fast Fashion - Approximately only 20% of all worldwide textiles used are recycled and the UK sends 350,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill each year. By passing on high quality pre-loved clothing and redistributing it to families who will continue to utilise it, we ensure clothes are being used to the end of their life. We know children grow quickly, and their clothes are often grown out of before the clothing is unwearable (although some uniform won’t survive the first term back!).
Poverty - We know that 1 in 3 households in Perth and Kinross are classed as struggling financially. As the Cost of Living crisis continues, this is unfortunately only expected to continue. 2600 children in Perth and Kinross are classed as living in very deep poverty. The Perth City locality has the highest number of children living in relative poverty. Feedback from our service users highlights that our service allows them to redirect their household budget to urgent bills and other unavoidable expenses, with 82% of feedback participants stating receiving our free clothing allowed them to re-prioritise their financial needs and 82% saying it reduced their stress. What more could we ask for?
By redistributing School Uniform, we can ensure all children can return to school feeling positive and matching their peers. How children feel in their clothes will have a dramatic impact on their school experience, their ability to learn and improve their future prospects. We know there is enough pre-loved clothing to support our local children to engage and build a bright and successful future!
Can't Donate? Get Involved!
Volunteer with us! We always need our community to support us to deliver our services. Can you help us organise donations? Deliver Packs across Perthshire? Mend and repair clothing? Reach out to us on [email protected] to find out more - or follow us on social media.
We need preloved and new donations for our School Uniform Bank. We have Donation Stations across Perthshire please get in contact for more information.
We will also run an Weekly Wishlist on our social media platforms so you know exactly what we are in need of.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Team Social Flock
#RightToClothing #BuyABairnABag