With the cost of school uniforms putting pressure on family finances, the Marton Uniform Exchange was set up to help parents access secondhand uniform for their tamariki and rangatahi.

Organiser Katie Deere says that the uptake in parents requesting uniform has been strong in the new year, and they regularly post on their Facebook page that they’re looking for donations. The idea for the alteration service came about when Katie was talking people that donated uniforms that weren’t in great condition.

“Some people were reluctant to give us their old uniforms because they were missing buttons, had tears or broken zips. But those are things that can be fixed, so we started looking for people who might be able to help us,” says Katie.

Katie spoke to Justine Rowe, Rangitīkei District Council’s Tamariki/Rangatahi Youth Engagement Officer, who was donating some uniform to the exchange and from that chat, Justine looked at how Council could assist.

The Community Hub team include Engagement Officer Angela Coleman and volunteer Clara Reibel, who both provide free sewing lessons at Marton Library, with Clara also offering an alterations service on Monday's and Wednesday's.

“We approached both Angela and Clara to see if it was something that they could do, and they were very keen to offer their skills to the Marton Uniform Exchange. Clara will take the lead and Angela will assist when needed,” says Justine.

Katie says that the offer from the Community Hubs team is a big help to the Marton Uniform Exchange and will lead to more parents accessing free uniforms for their children.

The service is available to Rangitīkei residents who live outside of Marton as well. Uniforms that need altering can be dropped into the Taihape Library and Te Matapihi, then delivered to Marton for alteration and returned on completion.

Turnaround times will be dependent on demand and anyone getting alterations done can contact Marton Library to get an estimated time of completion of their uniforms.

People who have uniforms that they would like to donate can email Martonuniformexchange@gmail.com to organise collection or drop off.

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