Caring dad re-opens New Street Station 'pop-up coat shop' to help kids (original) (raw)

When Mark Goodall heard from a teacher friend that children were turning up to school cold and wet as their families couldn't afford warm coats, he knew he had to take action. He did a Wolf Run to raise funds to go and buy kids at Oasis Academy Short Heath a coat of their choice.

Because for Mark, this wasn't just about collecting second-hand coats to distribute, it was about the child's self esteem and the pride they could take in having their own brand new coat they had chosen themselves. The coats were even given to parents to give to their children so they didn't know they had been donated.

He went on to set up an initiative called Cosy Coats in March 2022, launching it as a surprise for his mum's 70th birthday, as she had grown up in 'poor circumstances' herself, with her own parents sometimes going hungry to provide for her. Over the past 12 months, he has taken it to a whole new level by registering as a charity. As a result, he and his team has helped more than 400 children in 80 different schools around the area.

Read more: The children who 'suddenly disappear' - Birmingham teacher's 'stressful' truth

Read more: 10,000 and counting - record number of homeless kids in city as scandal worsens

Mark is re-opening the Cosy Coats stand at New Street Station in Birmingham city centre on Thursday, October 31. He will have a rail of coats plus a catalogue so that generous commuters and shoppers can buy warm clothing for children in poverty. Find out what happened at the Cosy Coats pop-up shop before here

"The more I get into Cosy Coats the more shocked and saddened I am by the poverty some families face," said Mark, from Sutton Coldfield, who has three children aged 12, 13 and 24. "I set it up because I was inspired by my mum but there are different levels of poverty.

"We had very little clothes to wear and food to eat but I hear shocking stories of children coming into schools with just a tiny packet of biscuits from the hotel where they are staying because they have nothing else to eat."

Any donation is welcome so, if there's a £20 coat and someone wants to donate £5, they can buy a quarter of that coat. There will also be a collection box if people would like to just drop in a pound or two. You can also find out more and make a donation via the Cosy Coats website.

Members of the Cosy Coats charity secured five slots in this year's London Half Marathon, which helped to raise £5,000. They are now working with community groups, as well as schools, to directly reach the city's most vulnerable families.

"We’ve started to directly help families now too, families referred to us through community groups. We recently helped a single mum with five kids whose husband left her due to mental health issues. She was desperately trying to scramble together clothes for them to go back to school so we gave each of them a new coat, pair of shoes and a blazer with the school logo.

"We’re still working with schools like Oasis Academy Short Heath who have vulnerable families they are trying to support. And we’ve now been in touch with a school for children with disabilities and are funding a coat with zips at the front and the back that makes it easier for children to put on when they are in a wheelchair. These are kids who have already got a lot going on in their lives and their families are struggling to afford this type of coat that will help make a difference."

In 2015, 27 percent of Birmingham children lived in poverty - today, that figure has risen to a shocking 46 percent. To try to help our children, BirminghamLive is calling on the government to provide free school meals to every child in poverty and free public transport for young people, create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials and set up child health and wellbeing hubs.

undefined

Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:

  1. End the two-child benefit cap
  2. Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
  3. Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
  4. Protect children’s and youth services
  5. Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
  6. Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
  7. Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
  8. Provide free public travel for young people

You can see why in more detail here.

Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.

What you can do to help.

Mark added: "We’re hoping to reach the same number of children this year as we did before and I’m really proud of all we’ve achieved. Considering it’s really just a one-man band, it’s good that it’s growing through word-of-mouth. I have a good support team around me.

"My dad is a trustee and helps with the accounts, my friend and teacher Neil is a great person to go to for advice and my friend Tara helps with everything, from running the pop-up to doing the half marathon having previously not been able to run a mile. She trained for five months and I was in tears when she crossed the finish line.

"I had thought we might not run a pop-up shop this year but we’ve decided it is a great way of fundraising and it gives off such good vibes and is a great way of getting us out there so people know what we’re doing and get involved."

Listen to our 45 money-saving tips for families on the Brummie Mummies podcast:

Organisations that can help with debts and finances

There are lots of organisations that can help with debts, budgeting and advice:

Story Saved

You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.