The outstanding work of the charity Goods For Good has been recognised by a national award for one of its volunteers. Retired former schoolwear outfitter, Howard Skolnick, received the award at the Jewish Volunteering Network annual awards.
The accolade was for masterminding a scheme to access thousands of pounds’ worth of unused and unwanted school clothing that might otherwise have ended up in landfill sites, and redistributing it to impoverished families in countries around the world.
Skolnick has been a volunteer at Watford-based Goods For Good for over four years.
He knew from his own working experience that when schools change their uniform or logos, manufacturers and retailers are often left with large amounts of the old uniforms that are brand-new but can’t be used. “Some years ago, before I joined Goods For Good, I remember finding approximately 15,000 sweatshirts lying in a manufacturer’s warehouse,” says Skolnick.
“I got that company to donate them to a charity project to send clothes abroad, then being run by Rosalind Bluestone, who started Goods For Good a few years later. But it could be any item of school clothing, for instance, a jumper where embroidery is not right or a T-shirt where the colour is wrong.”
Skolnick approached Goods For Good founder and chief executive Rosalind Bluestone with the idea of taking a stand at schoolwear exhibitions.
This presence would enable Goods For Good to get its message out directly to those involved in making and selling the clothing and, who most likely at some point, would be burdened with piles of clothing they couldn’t move.
Rosalind Bluestone comments: “I liked Howard’s idea very much and I’m delighted to say it has been, and continues to be, very successful for us. His award is well-deserved. There is also a very important environmental aspect to our work. We are taking perfectly good clothing – much more than just school uniforms – away from landfill sites and sending it to people in desperate need, people who have nothing.”
For further information about Goods For Good, please click here.
