Foster carer Jo Joscelyn has been recognised for her Outstanding Contribution to the Foster Community after a partnership with a local charity shop helped rehome more than 5,000 items of children’s clothing to families in Southend-on-Sea, a move reported by SAVS Southend. Jo fosters for Southend-on-Sea City Council and the award recognises the practical support she has provided to local foster families.
The arrangement began after a conversation between Jo and Jenny White, shop manager at the HARP Broadway West shop in Leigh-on-Sea, when Jo explained that many children arrive in care with very little clothing and the shop was finding it difficult to sell large volumes of donated children’s clothes. The partnership turned that surplus into an organised service for foster households.
Under the scheme Jo buys sacks of unsold children’s clothing from the shop for £5 each, then sorts and bundles the items by age and gender before distributing them free of charge to foster families across Southend. The arrangement also generates more income for the charity than textile recycling collections while ensuring donated items go to local children who need them.
To date the work between Jo and the HARP Broadway West team has rehomed more than 5,000 items of clothing and benefited 75 local foster families, and the initiative is now asking for donations of teenage clothing to meet growing demand for older children’s sizes. Members of the community who can help are being encouraged to donate suitable teenage clothing to support young people entering foster care.
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