THE winner of the Volunteer of the Year Award has told what sparked her dream to create a school uniform bank for families in need.

Dawn Coleman, the founder of Shipley Area School Uniform Bank, was crowned the winner by more than 600 people.

The project, which opened in 2018, receives donations from the local community, both used and new items, which are then washed, quality checked, stored and entered into its database.

It helps children who are a resident of, or attend school, within one of the following areas: Shipley, Windhill & Wrose, Baildon, Idle & Thackley, Bolton & Undercliffe and Eccleshill.

The non-profit service is run by three volunteers based at Shipley Salvation Army and demand has soared since the start of lockdown.

Dawn said: "It gives families somewhere they know they can turn, a back-up plan that is open to everybody without any strings attached. To be able to provide that kind of service in a community is something that really builds up the whole community - it's not just me that does this - it's the organisations that host donation boxes, the people who donate items, volunteers who drive, do the washing, sort the stock, and parents who share our Facebook posts and tell their friends that it's ok to ask us for help.

"I often say I don't feel like I do anything that shouldn't just be a normal thing to do. But the news came on a tough lockdown day here so it was really uplifting.

"So many families fall through the cracks of eligibility criteria, or don't want to feel they are asking for help.

"With us, they can just message and we'll sort it without any fuss. Everybody needs help sometimes, I know I have.

"Last summer we were busier than ever. One day, I packed up 32 bags of requests. We gave out over 800 items in a couple of months. People had been on furlough or lost jobs and had less money, they had bought new uniform in January which had been barely worn but was too small to wear in September.

"They were worried about spending money on uniform and then school closing again and it being wasted when none of us have it to waste."

Explaining her inspiration, Dawn said: "When I was little, I was looked after a lot by two ladies from Shipley Salvation Army who used to hold jumble sales on the wall at York House in Thorpedge.

"They helped anybody who needed it, at any time of day or night, and they heavily influenced who I am today.

"In early 2018 I was sat reading an article about the cost of school uniform, and the impact of financial strain on family life.

"And we're asking parents to pay £200 for a full set of uniform which they'll grow out of in 6 months if not sooner.

"So I put a post on Facebook and, a few months later, I had a basement full of school uniform and managed to convince a few friends to form a management committee, and well... it just got bigger from there.

"We were able to expand into the Thorpedge area last year, which was important to me."