Edinburgh Morrisons stores to accept donations of coats for children without winter clothing

Morrisons stores in Edinburgh will be on the accepting donations of winter wear as part of a community initiative.

Morrisons will accept donations of winter coats for children who's families may not be able to provide adequate cold weather clothing

So far, Morrisons at Edinburgh’s Ferry Road, the Gyle, Moredun and Dalkeith have confirmed that they will accept donations of coats to fit children aged three to 16 which will go to local schools.

The ‘Coats 4 Kids’ initiative was created by Ferry Road store’s community champion Dana Campbell, who has been approached by schools to explain that there are many children coming into school around the Capital without the adequate winter clothing resulting in school teachers even buying supplies themselves.

She said: “Due to the current situation of Covid-19, many families are struggling more than ever before and as community champions, we want to do as much as we can to support these children, families and schools.

The initiative was launched by Ferry Road's community champion Dana Campbell

“Last winter I went out myself and bought some clothes to donate to a primary school in Leith because they had approached me to say that some children were coming in without adequate clothing, some even without pants. My efforts last year reminded me that this year it could be worse due to the pandemic so it was important that we launched this initiative.”

Within the next week, Morrisons shoppers will be able to donate good quality coats and jackets - which can be secondhand - to the shops which will have a dedicated place to donate them which will be signposted in store.

Customers will also be able to approach the customer service desk and ask for the store’s community champion to assist with the donation. Stores will communicate with each other to ensure that each community has an adequate range of sizes of coats which have been donated to meet the needs of schools in each area.

Dana added: “We don’t have an exact date this will begin but it will be in the next week - and those who can’t wait until then can speak to a community champion in store to make a donation.

“We want to get this initiative rolling as quick as possible as we are extremely conscious of the drop in temperature and how quickly the cold weather is coming in and also how many children are being affected by this.”

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