A group of student volunteers have carried out a clothing appeal at Blackpool and The Fylde College in aid of Oxfam.

The Pathway Volunteer Skills Group, all students in the School of Access and Continuing Education, collected unwanted clothes from students and members of staff at the Bispham Campus. The project was run in conjunction with the Sustainability Officer and as well as encouraging recycling, is a fundamental part of their work experience.

After visiting various offices and classrooms with their green bins to pick up the men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, the students weighed the bags and separated the items ready to donate to Oxfam’s charity shop in Lytham St Annes.

In addition to collecting clothes on the day, the students handed out leaflets and spoke to staff and other students around the campus ahead of the event to raise awareness and encourage people to bring items in.

Sustainability Officer Pam Reynolds said:

“The first collection was really successful. We had more than 300 items of clothing weighing around 60kg, with jumpers and children’s clothing being the most popular items to donate. Now our staff and students have cleared out plenty of space in their wardrobes just in time for Christmas!

“More collections are planned across College in the future – we’re currently appealing for any unwanted books. We hope to carry out the initiative each month and encourage everyone at the College to recycle unwanted goods rather than simply throwing them away.”

Pippa Lyon from Oxfam added:

“We are really pleased with the generous response from the College; it will really help and make a difference to the shop. We’re looking forward to the next collection in December.”

The College has built a solid relationship with Oxfam over the last year thanks to its work to promote Fairtrade goods and discourage so-called fast fashion. It is hoped that the collections will become a regular fixture at the College and be extended to other campuses.