New clothing donation banks are being installed across Sunderland to raise vital funds for the Foundation of Light. The project is a joint initiative between Sunderland BIDs, the recycling firm Fundraise & Recycle, and the charity, with the first collection point already set up at the main entrance of the Beacon of Light.
The partnership plans to place two additional banks at locations in the city centre and along the seafront. All money generated from selling the donated clothing will go directly to the Foundation of Light, which serves as the official charity for Sunderland AFC. The charity requires more than £4 million in funding each year to operate over 40 community programmes, supporting residents from childhood through to later life.
The clothing collected will be sorted and packaged in Sunderland before being sold to consumers or wholesalers. Any items not suitable for resale will be repurposed into industrial wiping rags for sectors including mechanics and engineering, helping to reduce waste. Furthermore, football-specific donations such as boots, kits, and shin pads will be given directly to the charity to be reused.
Each donation bank features an interactive QR code, which allows residents to track the impact of their contributions. By scanning the code, donors can see how many kilograms of textiles have been recycled, the total funds raised, and the amount of carbon dioxide prevented from entering the atmosphere through the recycling process.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
