Millionaire Liverpool mum's vow to help parents who are struggling

A self-made millionaire from Liverpool who left school with no qualifications is leading a fundraising campaign to help parents who are struggling buy school uniforms for their children.

Kate Stewart, whose businesses include the Sandon Complex in Anfield and who made her first million by the time she was 26, said that many parents struggle with the ever increasing cost of school uniforms.

The mum-of-four told the Liverpool ECHO: “We first started fundraising three-years-ago, and quickly people were asking how they could help – we raised over £12,000 in a week.

"I'm from a deprived area myself, and it [poverty] is a big problem. Many parents struggle to afford the uniform. I want children to be going through the school doors feeling on a par with everyone else.

“Many have uniforms with holes in them, and it will affect their confidence, they will feel isolated and that doesn’t help their studies.” Kate also believes that schools could do more to help parents over the issue of where they sell uniforms. The uniform policy of many schools is a problem. A lot only have one shop supplying them, which creates a monopoly.

“You can have blazers costing over £100, and even jumpers can be £30. I’d like parents to be able to buy plain uniforms from supermarkets.You don’t need have expensive branded blazers, you can have plain ones and iron a logo on if that’s what the school wants. You can get clothing in Tesco or Asda that is absolutely fine and much more affordable.”

Kate, who grew up in Clubmoor, is attempting to set up a meeting with new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP on what the Government can do to support parents, after lobbying of the previous Conservative administration proved unsuccessful.

In the meantime, Kate will continue the fundraising to help those less fortunate. She has created a JustGiving page with a target of raising £5,000 to buy school uniforms for children across the city and has also posted a short video to her Instagram page, where she explains how donating just the price of a cup of coffee can make a difference to a child’s life. Kate added: “Children are going without. I’m doing ok, but you have to give something back if you can.”