The Hummingbird Project regifts its 35,000th item of free school uniform

The Hummingbird Project, which has been helping families across the community since 2020 by regifting unwanted items to those in need, is celebrating regifting its 35,000th item of school uniform.

The volunteer-run initiative collects uniform – alongside other unwanted items such as clothing, toys and toiletries – from the community, and then the team of 25 team leaders and volunteers regifts the items to people in need across Derbyshire, Tameside and Greater Manchester.

The team currently operate from an 1,800 sq ft multibank based in Glossop, and have recently launched their new Postal Service to post uniform (and any other items) to people in need in areas further afield.

Founder Jo Gregory said: "We are seeing a worrying increase in the number of parents and carers reaching out to us for help with not only school uniform, but PE kits, stationary, shoes and more.

"Our multibank doesn't just help 'no and low' income families, but also one and two- =income families whose disposable income has been decimated by the current cost of living crisis and who need help to buy uniforms for their children.

"Every child deserves to have complete access to uniform, books, stationary and footwear. School uniform should not be considered a luxury item; it is a necessity that people just can not afford anymore. More needs to be done by the government and schools to make uniform more accessible for everyone' 

The project is especially busy regifting uniform during the school holidays and they expect to regift more than 7,000 items of school uniform, footwear and PE kits just in the summer holidays alone.

It was founded just over three years ago by Jo Gregory in her cellar in response to Covid. Jo is a local business owner, business coach and a mum to two school-aged children.

Using a pioneering ‘Freetail’ ('free retail') concept created by Jo, inspired by her humanitarian work on refugee camps in Europe, The Hummingbird Project creates a retail space where everyone is welcome regardless of postcode or pay cheque. It is a place where people can browse and select their own items, and is designed to remove the stigma attached to traditional 'aid banks' in the UK and to encourage dignified distribution and respectful retail.

Every item is free and everyone is welcome to come and take any items of school uniform or other things that they need.

Since their inception three years ago they have re-gifted more than 200,000kg of items (which equates to around half a million items) as well as recycling more than 18,000kg of unusable items, saving them from landfill.

They are current shortlisted nominees for the 2024 King's Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS).