GROCERYAID SUPPORTS FAMILIES WITH BACK TO SCHOOL ESSENTIALS

More than 3,600 children have been supported by GroceryAid’s School Essentials Grant this year, as the charity records an unprecedented rise in demand for its services as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Within two weeks of the fund opening, GroceryAid received 2,260 applications from families seeking financial support to cope with the costs of buying school necessities for children going back to school. The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust, the project’s major donor, more than doubled this year’s fund, and enabled the charity to provide grants of £540,000 to those in need.

Mandi Leonard, Welfare Director at GroceryAid said: “The response to this year’s School Essentials Grant has been incredible. Support from our industry colleagues helped spread the message far and wide to those people who really needed help; from posters in canteens to conversations with colleagues, the awareness has been fantastic. “

Parents employed in the grocery industry for at least six months, who could prove they were in receipt of Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit, were eligible to apply for a School Essentials Grant up to the value of £150 per school-aged child (maximum of three children for payment).

Recipients of the grants expressed their gratitude directly to GroceryAid in an outpouring of thank you messages, including:

“I can’t thank you enough for the support and financial help towards my daughter’s uniform and stationery for school.”

“My employer had a GroceryAid poster in the staff canteen, so I decided to apply. As a single parent, working part-time, I find school uniform a struggle to buy. The application was easy, and I was kept in the loop about all the decisions. A massive thank you, it is a weight off my shoulders and really appreciated!”

The GroceryAid School Essentials Grant has closed for 2021. Parents can still apply for assistance with school uniform or equipment through the Government or their Local Authority. Click here for more details https://www.gov.uk/help-school-clothing-costs
GroceryAid has been at the heart of the food and drink industry, providing emotional, practical and financial support since 1857 for grocery colleagues.

To find out more about GroceryAid’s services, click here.

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