August's Lundie Memorial Award goes to two brothers from St Columba's URC, Wolverhampton, who are dedicated volunteers at the Community School Swap Shop which is part of the church's eco-church work.
The swap shop provides free pre-loved school uniform for children across the city and Andew (15) and Daniel (13) have been helping since it started in 2019.
They sort clothes, label and hang them, find and bag up the correct uniform and sizes for people who have messaged the swap shop and work at the open sessions setting out clothes and helping people find what they're looking for.
Colin Gardener, the church elder who nominated them, explained that the swap shop has helped kit out more than 240 children in school uniform over the last year alone, keeping outgrown clothing from going to landfill and reducing the need for new clothing to be manufactured (calculated to have prevented the release 17.4 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere), while saving parents money (a grand total of £9300) especially in a time when many have been made redundant or furloughed.
With fewer volunteers due to the pandemic, the swap shop has been extremely reliant on the dedication of Andrew and Daniel who gave up many hours of their school holidays as well as volunteering on a weekly basis.
It's only possible to offer community projects if you have people behind the scenes who are willing to put in time and effort, which Andrew and Daniel really do
"Andrew and Daniel.. go the extra mile to help people - for example Andrew searches school websites to find out information for people who don't know what uniform they need and Daniel will entertain the smaller children while their parents sort their uniform. It's only possible to offer community projects if you have people behind the scenes who are willing to put in time and effort, which Andrew and Daniel really do."
Nominate a child or young person for a Lundie Award
You can nominate someone to receive the award. Read our booklet here (pdf) and then fill in a nomination form (Word)