A Teesside charity is doubling donations to help children start the new school year with the uniform they need.
The Teesside Charity has launched its School Uniform Pledge as requests for help continue to rise across the region. Every pound donated to the campaign will be match-funded, effectively turning a £10 donation into £20 of support for local families.
Since January, the charity says it has provided £4,695 in supermarket vouchers for uniform and another £1,500 towards branded items such as blazers and ties. That support has reached 144 children across the Tees Valley.
The demand behind those numbers has grown quickly. Referrals for school uniform help are up 135% compared with the same period in 2025, according to the charity, with further requests expected as families prepare for September.
Support is arranged through schools, carers and professionals who are already working with children and families. That matters because the scheme is designed to be discreet. A family does not have to make a public case for help, and the child receiving it does not need to be singled out.
The charity says every penny donated to the pledge will go directly towards school uniforms. Early match-funding support has come from local businesses and individual donors, giving the campaign a pot that can stretch further while demand is high.
Uniform costs can land all at once: shoes, PE kit, trousers, skirts, shirts and branded items, sometimes for several children in the same household. The pledge is trying to remove one of those pressures before the school gates reopen.
: Figures and campaign details come from The Teesside Charity's School Uniform Pledge announcement, published 21 August 2026. The charity also provides information about uniform support through its hardship fund.