Together, Engage, Encourage, Support - TEES

TEES CIO started a period poverty campaign in 2018 to support people across the borough with FREE access to period products. We placed donation points across the region to gain access to products donated to Tees Period Poverty Campaign TPP from the public. We researched at great length the provision in place in the UK and Internationally, TPP then contacted all the major players in the UK to discuss a partnership or support in mirroring the campaigns already established. After consultation with the founders of The Red Box Project, Plan International and Bloody Good Period, TPP asked Tina Leslie the founder of Freedom4girls to support TPP in setting up and liaising on TPP. All the above are members of the Governments Taskforce initiative on Period Poverty. TEES then contacted Celia Hodson Founder of Hey Girls to ask to become a donation partner of theirs. The knowledge and support of Tina and Celia gave us the tools we needed to roll out TPP in weeks. We currently support over 700 women and girls every month and gave away the cash equivalent of over £60,000 of FREE products from January till December 2019. This campaign was funded and supported by Redcar & Cleveland Council.

TEES Community Clothing Scheme TCC founded in September 2018, but not active until September 2019. We used the same template as above, we had a year’s research and proven track record behind us, with the contacts and partnerships already formed and trust and support already in place. TCC contacted Louise Cooke founder of Sharewear in Nottinghampshire we liaised, met up and founded TCC. The Old Co-oP Community Building in Loftus charity number 1157055, offered TCC a FREE room to sort and store our donations in. We have currently supported over 50 families and individuals from pregnant mums, women & children fleeing domestic violence, to school uniforms and suits for interviews and weddings. Ron Storey and his partner Clare Smith were then both volunteer’s for TEES and opened the clothing bank. They dedicated themselves to getting the clothing, shoes and bedding to people in need referred to us from our referral partners. We exist as a clothing bank because of their determination, hard work, commitment and caring without them we would still be a storage room.