Bedhampton mum launches donation scheme to support Ukrainian refugees with 'wardrobes in a bag' as they arrive in Portsmouth

Sally Codling, who runs clothing bank KidsClothesLine, will be using unwanted clothes to help struggling refugees as they begin to arrive in Portsmouth.

The Bedhampton mum, who runs her operation from a warehouse in Hilsea, is among a team of Portsmouth groups seeking to co-ordinate the city’s relief efforts for Ukrainian families.

Ordinarily, Sally’s charity gives out much-needed clothing for struggling families locally.

But she said that since the war in Ukraine began, more than a month ago, she has been ‘absolutely inundated’ with clothes.

It’s meant that she is now able to extend her support to help refugee children, aged between two and 16, as they arrive in the city with little more than ‘a suitcase’ as they seek safety from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

She said: ‘We’re just using the resources that we have from the warehouse, they’re the same bags we take to local charities and schools and things.

‘We’re getting requests from host families, for example for a seven-year-old girl, and we will make up a bag of seasonal clothes and we can deliver that to the host family. We’re hoping to support families as they arrive really.

‘Once big amounts go out the we’ll have another lot that can come in and we can put requests through our donation page but we don’t need any stuff for the moment because we’ve been absolutely inundated.’

Sally’s charity founded in August 2020 after people began donating their unwanted clothes via her Facebook group Donations only KidsClothesLine Hampshire.

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Earlier this week, she attended a meeting at the Guildhall of the city’s organisation co-ordinating Portsmouth relief plan to help ‘let people know’ about the support she is offering.

Speaking of the Ukrainian families, she added: ‘A lot of the kids will just have a suitcase when they arrive so it's really about making people aware that we're there and we can help.'

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