CamCRAG is a registered charity who organise regular weekend volunteer convoys from Cambridge to Calais. We also collect donations and funds to help refugees in Europe and beyond.
CamCRAG is a registered charity who organise regular weekend volunteer convoys from Cambridge to Calais. We also collect donations and funds to help refugees in Europe and beyond.

College donates school uniforms for refugees in Calais and Paris

Almost half a tonne of unwanted school uniforms have arrived in France after they were donated to us by The Parents, Staff & Friends Association (PSFA) at Impington Village College (IVC).

The clothing, which is surplus to requirements following a change in the college’s dress code was handed over to us earlier this month and shipped to Calais, Dunkirk and Paris.

IVC PFSA has a surfeit of second hand school uniform after the college moved to a new house system and a vertical approach to tutoring. The change in the school’s structure involved the introduction of new house colours and logos, which meant that old items of uniform, which would normally have been suitable for resale, were superfluous.

Keen to avoid sending the out-of-date uniform to landfill, PFSA volunteers started to think about alternative options. Scrolling through Facebook one evening, PFSA Co-Chair Claire Richards, noticed that CamCRAG was looking for unwanted clothing to send to refugees in France.

Mr Ryan Kelsall, IVC Principal, said: “This is great way to recycle our old, redundant uniform and prevent it going to landfill. We are thrilled that all of this warm clothing will be sent to Northern France and donated to young adults and vulnerable refugees that need quality garments to keep the cold at bay until the warmer spring weather arrives.”

Lara Brettell, CamCRAG Chair, said: “We’re very grateful to the parents and staff at Impington for this donation – it is a great way to ensure these clothes get used to help others.

“There are still thousands of refugees in Calais, Dunkirk and Paris with more arriving every day. Having fled from civil wars and oppressive regimes and made the journey across Europe many have very little. Being able to provide them with warm, clean clothes is vital.

“Once again we have been touched by the kindness of residents in Cambridge and surrounding villages who have responded so generously to the refugee crisis in Europe.”