AS the end of the summer holidays fast approaches, Kay Sandham is at her regular post – helping families as they queue at the window for pre-loved school uniforms.
Kay – Darlington‘s Citizen of the Year in 2022 – may be small in stature, but she’s big-hearted, and makes an enormous difference to the local community in her hometown of Darlington.
After retiring from her IT job with the railways, she began volunteering with the 8th Cockerton Scouts, and went on to be a driving force behind the Cockerton Community and Business Group.
Then, in 2020 – the year Covid swept the country – her reputation as a community campaigner led to her being asked to get involved in setting up The School Uniform Exchange.
It’s a service that’s brilliant in its simplicity. Uniforms from local schools are donated by families who no longer need them, and they are redistributed after being freshly-laundered and ironed.
The School Uniform Exchange is one of several initiatives run by Darlington Cares, a not-for-profit organisation that has been connecting local employers with community projects and charities since 2012.
This summer, Darlington Cares is celebrating a magnificent milestone, having delivered 100,000 hours of volunteering – and Kay personifies the community spirit that’s been inspired over the past 14 years.
“We all need to play our part in supporting the community, and The School Uniform Exchange fills a real need,” she says.
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Kay Sandham is a big part of The School Uniform Exchange success story (Image: Peter Barron)
Last year alone, Darlington Cares, hosted by the borough council, delivered 11,096 hours of volunteering, equating to seven full-time employees.
The School Uniform Exchange, operating from a unit near the Beaumont Street entrance to Feethams Car Park, accounted for 1,920 hours of volunteering, helping 5,000 families, and handing out 13,000 recycled items of uniform.
Catherine McKinnell, Minister of State for School Standards, was clearly impressed because she chose the Darlington redistribution hub to make a Government announcement that, from September, school uniforms will be limited to three items with a school logo, plus a tie for secondary schools.
However, The School Uniform Exchange is only part of the story. Darlington Cares also delivered 3,051 hours of voluntary environmental work in 2025, mainly in local parks, including 642 hours of tree planting.
The Darlington Cares Busy Readers scheme contributed 3,425 hours of volunteering to support literacy and numeracy in local schools.
Back in March 2020, Darlington Cares, in partnership with Darlington Building Society and Cummins Engines, was instrumental in The Bread and Butter Thing charity choosing Darlington to provide its first service outside Manchester, redistributing surplus food from supermarkets and suppliers.
Darlington Cares continues to support The Bread and Butter Thing, providing 835 hours of volunteering to the charity and local food banks last year.
An additional 858 volunteer hours were devoted to the Darlington Cares volunteer library book delivery service, and 322 volunteer hours were used to support the council’s sheltered accommodation.
Pick, Pie and a Pint, aimed at recruiting volunteers for community litter-picks, has been another successful Darlington Cares initiative over the years.
But it’s The School Uniform Exchange where Kay has spent countless hours, and she has no doubt about the value of the service.
“It’s a great example of the value of Darlington Cares because it’s having a real impact on families, fulfilling a real need, and providing security for people,” she explains.
“It’s also removing the stigma of poverty because it operates like a shop – except that everything is free.”
Though the ongoing cost of living crisis is clearly a factor, Kay is quick to stress that lots of people also use the service because recycling clothes is good for the environment.
“All of this would go to landfill,” she says, pointing to the racks of school uniforms in the unit below the car park.
The opening hours are 10am to 1pm every weekday, and it’s 11am on Friday when I visit. The shop is a hive of activity, with Kay and her volunteer colleague, Rose Bairstow, serving a steady stream of customers at the counter.
While Kay serves a mum with three children, Rose deals with a teenage boy, who’s come in the hope of kitting out his little brother – a new pupil at one of the town’s primary schools.
He leaves with a grateful smile and a large bag, packed with trousers, polo shirt, jumper, reversible fleece and waterproof jacket, hoodie, and trainers.
He’s also given one of a large number of pencil-cases recently donated by engineering company, Cummins.
“Local businesses are very supportive,” says Kay, who is one of 12 volunteers at the uniform shop.
Wellies, walking boots, back-packs, water bottles, revision books, and colouring books are also on offer, along with warm coats during the winter months.
Kay spends at least a day a week at The School Uniform Exchange, but it’s often two or three days, depending on demand.
“Sometimes, we get parents, or grandparents, turning up who don’t know which way to turn because there’s been a breakdown in the family unit and they’ve been left to cope with children.
“I remember one single mum turning up in tears and saying she felt ashamed, but we told her there’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
“We also get refugees, who’ve had to leave their homes, perhaps because of a war in their own country. Their stories are really moving and it’s so rewarding to be able to help them. It doesn’t matter who comes, we’ll always do our best to help.”
But while The School Uniform Exchange often has to deal with hardship, volunteering with the service also has its lighter side – like the time a man arrived with his son, who’d lost his school jumper.
Hours earlier, by happy coincidence, the same school had donated a pile of unclaimed items from its lost property box – including a washed and ironed jumper with the boy’s name tag sewn into it!
“They went home smiling – and that’s all we ever ask for,” says Kay as she moves on to another customer.
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