School Bank issues appeal
The West Lothian School Bank has launched a new appeal for water bottles for children from lowincome families.
The appeal comes as the school bank has seen a sharp rise in service users.
They have already surpassed last year’s total of 1020 children serviced, and expect to reach 1400 families serviced by the end of the financial year in April.
This is a 17.5 per cent increase in service users in just one year, staff from the school bank attribute this to the rising cost of living and the impact the pandemic has had on working families in West Lothian.
The charity has existed for six years, first offering its services in 2016 - they provide a brand new uniform, stationary, and other essential items for school to children from families experiencing financial hardship.
The average uniform cost for a single child in West Lothian is around £120 to £130 per year, which is a big investment for families on a low income.
Colette Moran, project manager at West Lothian School Bank, spoke about the latest appeal.
She said: “There’s a lot of costs associated with school - things like jackets, shoes, PE kits, trousers, jumpers, pencil cases, and even water bottles.
“If kids don’t have access to the same basic equipment everyone else has it can lead to them feeling excluded and even bullied in class.
“A water bottle is essential for children in schools especially right now because of infection control water fountains can’t be used by pupils.”
They currently help around 70 children per month, and run appeals at different points in the year for different items, like warm coats in the winter.
The charity works on a referral basis, with the largest referrer being schools themselves, and the second most being domestic abuse charity, Women’s Aid.
The current appeal is asking for donations of water bottles. To be eligible for donation they have to be brand new for hygiene reasons.
Corporate donations are also welcome, regardless of branding, as long as the bottles have been unused.
Brand new water bottles, no second hand, sometimes companies branded water bottles that they don’t want, happy to take these things even if company logo
Colette said there is a real need for the service in West Lothian.
She said: “One child referred to the service refused to go out at play-time. It turned out his coat was too thin and he was freezing, so he had to sit inside and look out at the window at his friends having fun. Another kid had cut her feet on a piece of glass from walking to school in plimsoles. It’s heartbreaking that so many families are in this situation.
“We don’t need as many volunteers at the moment, but any financial donations would go a long way to supporting children in West Lothian.”