£17k uniforms gift from Asda

Nola Milne, Asda Galashiels community champion, teamed up with local charity Soulspan Ministries and the education board to identify which schools were in most need of the uniforms.

Keith Scott, CEO Soulspan said: “The response from the schools was amazing, one teacher broke down in tears at the generosity from Asda, which just goes to show the impact that’s been made with this sizeable donation.

“It was a privilege to be involved in this project with Asda; Soulspan works a lot with people in the community, so we were able to use our connections to see that this tremendous gift was distributed covering a large part of the Borders.

“We were bowled over by Asda’s generosity, meeting the need of so many families in these difficult times. The schools have actively distributed the uniforms straight away to families in need. It was a mammoth task, but we managed to complete it in five days.”

Nola Milne said: “It has been phenomenal to be a part of something so huge and so impactful for the community. It has been a real privilege for me to support our local schools with such an enormous donation as some areas in the Borders are in real need and this donation will help so many families. This would not have been at all possible without the tireless efforts of Keith and his team of fantastic volunteers from Soulspan Ministries who allowed us the use of their church in Galashiels to sort the uniforms. I feel very proud to be part of Asda and to have been part of this project.”

Jenny Grant, head teacher of Langlee Primary School, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have benefited from this generous donation. The uniforms supplied have been very popular with our families, especially during our current cost of living crisis. It has been provided at a good time of the year, to both see children through to the end of term and to provide clothes for the new school year after the summer. We are very grateful to have received this thoughtful gift.”