CLOTHING Coventry has been saved from the brink after six months of fears it would be unable to continue its vital service.
And the charity is now looking to expand its reach at a time when its support is needed more than ever.
Founder Katie Wilson revealed the National Lottery had stepped in with £297,000 of funding to enable the charity to continue for the foreseeable future.
This will enable Clothing Coventry to pay all its bills and double its storage space with a new warehouse opening in the city within the next few weeks.
In April, the Observer put out an appeal after Ms Wilson told us she needed £28,000 for Clothing Coventry to continue until the end of the year and feared its current warehouse would close by August.
It later secured last-minute funding which allowed it to continue until the end of the year but many of its staff were faced with being let go with their driver being told he would be leaving.
Demand has skyrocketed in 2023, with Clothing Coventry supporting around 500 people each month.
Clothing Coventry was formed in 2020 and is the only project in the city to offer access to clothes for those in need, including the homeless and asylum seekers.
The charity also has 13 community clothes rails at venues across Coventry where people can help themselves to the items they need.
Ms Wilson told the Observer: “The funding is life-changing, it has been a hugely stressful few months for all of us but now we will be able to help so many more people.
“I feel like all I have been doing is fund-raising for the past few months but now I can get back to doing what I love.”
Katie spoke on Tuesday when Coventry Building Society donated £20,000 to Clothing Coventry to buy more school uniforms for city children.
Staff at the firm decided to give away old school uniforms while Coventry City also donated 200 special bags with some signed by Sky Blues goalkeeper Ben Wilson.
Anna Cuskin, corporate responsibility manager at Coventry Building Society, said she wanted to form an ongoing partnership with Clothing Coventry to continue helping more children in need.
